32 research outputs found
IceCube's In-Ice Radio Extension: Status and Results
In 2006-2010, several Radio Frequency (RF) detectors and calibration
equipment were deployed as part of the IceCube array at depths between 5 to
1400 meters in preparation for a future large scale GZK neutrino detector.
IceCube's deep holes and well-established data handling system provide a unique
opportunity for deep-ice RF detection studies at the South-Pole. We will
present verification and calibration results as well as a status-review of
ongoing analyses such as ice-properties, RF noise and reconstruction
algorithms.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the Acoustic and
Radio EeV Neutrino detection Activities (ARENA) 2010 conferenc
NLO corrections to ultra-high energy neutrino-nucleon scattering, shadowing and small x
We reconsider the Standard Model interactions of ultra-high energy neutrinos
with matter. The next to leading order QCD corrections are presented for
charged-current and neutral-current processes. Contrary to popular
expectations, these corrections are found to be quite substantial, especially
for very large (anti-) neutrino energies. Hence, they need to be taken into
account in any search for new physics effects in high-energy neutrino
interactions. In our extrapolation of the parton densities to kinematical
regions as yet unexplored directly in terrestrial accelerators, we are guided
by double asymptotic scaling in the large Q^2 and small Bjorken x region and to
models of saturation in the low Q^2 and low x regime. The sizes of the
consequent uncertainties are commented upon. We also briefly discuss some
variables which are insensitive to higher order QCD corrections and are hence
suitable in any search for new physics.Comment: 21 pages, LaTeX2e, uses JHEP3.cls (included), 8 ps files for figures
published versio
The ExaVolt Antenna: A Large-Aperture, Balloon-embedded Antenna for Ultra-high Energy Particle Detection
We describe the scientific motivation, experimental basis, design
methodology, and simulated performance of the ExaVolt Antenna (EVA) mission,
and planned ultra-high energy (UHE) particle observatory under development for
NASA's suborbital super-pressure balloon program in Antarctica. EVA will
improve over ANITA's integrated totals - the current state-of-the-art in UHE
suborbital payloads - by 1-2 orders of magnitude in a single flight. The design
is based on a novel application of toroidal reflector optics which utilizes a
super-pressure balloon surface, along with a feed-array mounted on an inner
membrane, to create an ultra-large radio antenna system with a synoptic view of
the Antarctic ice sheet below it. Radio impulses arise via the Askaryan effect
when UHE neutrinos interact within the ice, or via geosynchrotron emission when
UHE cosmic rays interact in the atmosphere above the continent. EVA's
instantaneous antenna aperture is estimated to be several hundred square meters
for detection of these events within a 150-600 MHz band. For standard
cosmogenic UHE neutrino models, EVA should detect of order 30 events per flight
in the EeV energy regime. For UHE cosmic rays, of order 15,000 geosynchrotron
events would be detected in total, several hundred above 10 EeV, and of order
60 above the GZK cutoff energyComment: 20 pages, 14 figures; introductory section shortened; additional
horizontal polarization simulation results included. In final review for
Astroparticle Physic
Ultra-high neutrino fluxes as a probe for non-standard physics
We examine how light neutrinos coming from distant active galactic nuclei
(AGN) and similar high energy sources may be used as tools to probe
non-standard physics. In particular we discuss how studying the energy spectra
of each neutrino flavour coming from such distant sources and their distortion
relative to each other may serve as pointers to exotic physics such as neutrino
decay, Lorentz symmetry violation, pseudo-Dirac effects, CP and CPT violation
and quantum decoherence. This allows us to probe hitherto unexplored ranges of
parameters for the above cases, for example lifetimes in the range s/eV for the case of neutrino decay. We show that standard
neutrino oscillations ensure that the different flavours arrive at the earth
with similar shapes even if their flavour spectra at source may differ strongly
in both shape and magnitude. As a result, observed differences between the
spectra of various flavours at the detector would be signatures of non-standard
physics altering neutrino fluxes during propagation rather than those arising
during their production at source. Since detection of ultra-high energy (UHE)
neutrinos is perhaps imminent, it is possible that such differences in spectral
shapes will be tested in neutrino detectors in the near future. To that end,
using the IceCube detector as an example, we show how our results translate to
observable shower and muon-track event rates.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figure
FORTE satellite constraints on ultra-high energy cosmic particle fluxes
The FORTE (Fast On-orbit Recording of Transient Events) satellite records
bursts of electromagnetic waves arising from near the Earth's surface in the
radio frequency (RF) range of 30 to 300 MHz with a dual polarization antenna.
We investigate the possible RF signature of ultra-high energy cosmic-ray
particles in the form of coherent Cherenkov radiation from cascades in ice. We
calculate the sensitivity of the FORTE satellite to ultra-high energy (UHE)
neutrino fluxes at different energies beyond the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin (GZK)
cutoff. Some constraints on supersymmetry model parameters are also estimated
due to the limits that FORTE sets on the UHE neutralino flux. The FORTE
database consists of over 4 million recorded events to date, including in
principle some events associated with UHE neutrinos. We search for candidate
FORTE events in the period from September 1997 to December 1999. The candidate
production mechanism is via coherent VHF radiation from a UHE neutrino shower
in the Greenland ice sheet. We demonstrate a high efficiency for selection
against lightning and anthropogenic backgrounds. A single candidate out of
several thousand raw triggers survives all cuts, and we set limits on the
corresponding particle fluxes assuming this event represents our background
level.Comment: added a table, updated references and Figure 8, this version is
submitted to Phys. Rev.
A High Statistics Search for Ultra-High Energy Gamma-Ray Emission from Cygnus X-3 and Hercules X-1
We have carried out a high statistics (2 Billion events) search for
ultra-high energy gamma-ray emission from the X-ray binary sources Cygnus X-3
and Hercules X-1. Using data taken with the CASA-MIA detector over a five year
period (1990-1995), we find no evidence for steady emission from either source
at energies above 115 TeV. The derived upper limits on such emission are more
than two orders of magnitude lower than earlier claimed detections. We also
find no evidence for neutral particle or gamma-ray emission from either source
on time scales of one day and 0.5 hr. For Cygnus X-3, there is no evidence for
emission correlated with the 4.8 hr X-ray periodicity or with the occurrence of
large radio flares. Unless one postulates that these sources were very active
earlier and are now dormant, the limits presented here put into question the
earlier results, and highlight the difficulties that possible future
experiments will have in detecting gamma-ray signals at ultra-high energies.Comment: 26 LaTeX pages, 16 PostScript figures, uses psfig.sty to be published
in Physical Review
Energy and Flux Measurements of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays Observed During the First ANITA Flight
The first flight of the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA)
experiment recorded 16 radio signals that were emitted by cosmic-ray induced
air showers. For 14 of these events, this radiation was reflected from the ice.
The dominant contribution to the radiation from the deflection of positrons and
electrons in the geomagnetic field, which is beamed in the direction of motion
of the air shower. This radiation is reflected from the ice and subsequently
detected by the ANITA experiment at a flight altitude of 36km. In this paper,
we estimate the energy of the 14 individual events and find that the mean
energy of the cosmic-ray sample is 2.9 EeV. By simulating the ANITA flight, we
calculate its exposure for ultra-high energy cosmic rays. We estimate for the
first time the cosmic-ray flux derived only from radio observations. In
addition, we find that the Monte Carlo simulation of the ANITA data set is in
agreement with the total number of observed events and with the properties of
those events.Comment: Added more explanation of the experimental setup and textual
improvement
Relic neutrino masses and the highest energy cosmic rays
We consider the possibility that a large fraction of the ultrahigh energy
cosmic rays are decay products of Z bosons which were produced in the
scattering of ultrahigh energy cosmic neutrinos on cosmological relic
neutrinos. We compare the observed ultrahigh energy cosmic ray spectrum with
the one predicted in the above Z-burst scenario and determine the required mass
of the heaviest relic neutrino as well as the necessary ultrahigh energy cosmic
neutrino flux via a maximum likelihood analysis. We show that the value of the
neutrino mass obtained in this way is fairly robust against variations in
presently unknown quantities, like the amount of neutrino clustering, the
universal radio background, and the extragalactic magnetic field, within their
anticipated uncertainties. Much stronger systematics arises from different
possible assumptions about the diffuse background of ordinary cosmic rays from
unresolved astrophysical sources. In the most plausible case that these
ordinary cosmic rays are protons of extragalactic origin, one is lead to a
required neutrino mass in the range 0.08 eV - 1.3 eV at the 68 % confidence
level. This range narrows down considerably if a particular universal radio
background is assumed, e.g. to 0.08 eV - 0.40 eV for a large one. The required
flux of ultrahigh energy cosmic neutrinos near the resonant energy should be
detected in the near future by AMANDA, RICE, and the Pierre Auger Observatory,
otherwise the Z-burst scenario will be ruled out.Comment: 19 pages, 22 figures, REVTeX
The Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna Ultra-high Energy Neutrino Detector Design, Performance, and Sensitivity for 2006-2007 Balloon Flight
We present a detailed report on the experimental details of the Antarctic
Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) long duration balloon payload, including
the design philosophy and realization, physics simulations, performance of the
instrument during its first Antarctic flight completed in January of 2007, and
expectations for the limiting neutrino detection sensitivity. Neutrino physics
results will be reported separately.Comment: 50 pages, 49 figures, in preparation for PR
Phonon driven transport in amorphous semiconductors: Transition probabilities
Inspired by Holstein's work on small polaron hopping, the evolution equations
of localized states and extended states in presence of atomic vibrations are
derived for an amorphous semiconductor. The transition probabilities are
obtained for four types of transitions: from one localized state to another
localized state, from a localized state to an extended state, from an extended
state to a localized state, and from one extended state to another extended
state. At a temperature not too low, any process involving localized state is
activated. The computed mobility of the transitions between localized states
agrees with the observed `hopping mobility'. We suggest that the observed
`drift mobility' originates from the transitions from localized states to
extended states. Analysis of the transition probability from an extended state
to a localized state suggests that there exists a short-lifetime belt of
extended states inside conduction band or valence band. It agrees with the fact
that photoluminescence lifetime decreases with frequency in a-Si/SiO
quantum well while photoluminescence lifetime is not sensitive to frequency in
c-Si/SiO structure.Comment: 41 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.