Precision Operation of Hexagonal Radio Array

六边形射电阵列的精密运行

• 批准号: 1607719
• 负责人: Steven Barwick
• 金额: $ 48万
• 依托单位: University of California-Irvine
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-09-15 至 2020-02-29
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1607719&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Precision; Operation; Hexagonal; Radio; Array

Ultra-high-energy neutrinos are unique astrophysical messengers as they interact only weakly with intervening matter and can therefore be used to probe the distant universe. A small but observable flux of these ultra-high-energy neutrinos are expected to be produced in interactions between high-energy "cosmic ray" charged particles traveling through the Universe and Cosmic Microwave Background photons. Observations of these cosmogenic neutrinos probe the structure and evolution of the Universe and test physics at energies beyond the standard models. Utilizing the large volume of radio transparent ice, several pioneering efforts to detect these high energy neutrinos have been implemented in Antarctica. Ultra-high-energy neutrinos traveling through the dense Antarctic ice generate cascades of particles that emit observable radio waves. This award will support operations and continued development of the Hexagonal Radio Array (HRA), located on the surface of the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. HRA is designed to detect short-duration radio pulses generated by neutrino interactions in the ice, which reflect from the ice-water surface at the bottom of the Ross Ice Shelf up to the stations on the surface. This award provides funding to improve the detector characterization and continue observations. The group will utilize a variety of outreach activities, including twitter feeds and personal blogs, to engage the public in the science.Consisting of seven autonomous stations, HRA is intended to demonstrate the technology, assess data quality, and evaluate backgrounds as the first phase of a larger project, the Antarctic Ross Ice-shelf ANtenna Neutrino Array (ARIANNA.) With data from the HRA stations, the group will further characterize the sources and properties of non-thermal contributions, and improve the accuracy of detector simulation and event reconstruction programs.

超高能中微子是独特的天体物理信使，因为它们与介入物质的相互作用很弱，因此可以用来探测遥远的宇宙。 这些超高能中微子的小但可观测的通量预计将在穿过宇宙的高能“宇宙射线”带电粒子与宇宙微波背景光子之间的相互作用中产生。 对这些宇宙成因中微子的观测探测了宇宙的结构和演化，并测试了超出标准模型能量的物理学。 利用大量的无线电透明的冰，在南极洲已经实施了几项探测这些高能中微子的开创性努力。 超高能量的中微子穿过南极密集的冰层，产生了一系列粒子，发出了可观测到的无线电波。 该奖项将支持位于南极洲罗斯冰架表面的半球射电阵列（HRA）的运营和持续发展。 HRA的设计目的是探测冰中中微子相互作用产生的短时间无线电脉冲，这些脉冲从罗斯冰架底部的冰水表面反射到表面上的台站。 该奖项提供资金，以改善探测器的特性和继续观察。 该小组将利用各种推广活动，包括twitter feeds和个人博客，让公众参与科学。HRA由七个自主站组成，旨在展示技术，评估数据质量，并评估背景作为一个更大的项目的第一阶段，南极罗斯冰架ANTenna中微子阵列（ARIANNA）。 利用HRA台站的数据，该小组将进一步确定非热贡献的来源和性质，并提高探测器模拟和事件重建方案的准确性。