Leveraging Novel Complementary Variables to Boost the Sensitivity of Ultra High Energy Neutrino Experiments

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Ultra-high-energy neutrinos are unique astrophysical messengers as they interact only weakly with intervening matter and can therefore be used to probe high energy sources and extreme conditions throughout the universe, and to test physics at energies beyond the Standard Model. This award will support a group at Ohio State University in their work to develop new technology and techniques to study high energy neutrinos through the radio emission generated as the neutrinos traverse dense ice. The group's effort focus on the Askaryan Radio Array (ARA), an experiment located at the South Pole Station in Antarctica. The group engages students at all levels in the research activities. They conduct a biannual workshop for high school women, ASPIRE. Through this award, they will add more research projects to the program and introduce research mentors for interested ASPIRE participants. The Ohio State group will focus on new strategies and techniques to process signals from current Askaryan radio neutrino experiments, with a focus on ARA. The group will study circularly polarized components of signals to complement current measurements of linear polarization and explore variations in time and directional windows to reduce background levels. They will carry out sensitive searches in existing data sets and in new ARA data for coincident detections with the IceCube observatory. They will also search for evidence of gamma-ray bursts as well as gravitational wave events in the neutrino data.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.