Collaborative Research: WoU-MMA: Askaryan Radio Array: A World-Class, Forward-Looking, and Dynamic Neutrino Astrophysics Observatory From 100 PeV

University Of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison WI

Investigators

Abstract

This award funds the continued operation of the Askaryan Radio Array (ARA) experiment at the South Pole. ARA consists of five stations of antennas embedded up to 200m deep in the ice that are designed to detect radio “Askaryan” emission from neutrinos interacting in the ice. ARA’s dataset is the world’s most sensitive to ultra-high energy neutrinos from astrophysical sources. ARA has the potential to make a first discovery of UHE neutrinos, which are key to answering the century-old question of the origin of high energy cosmic rays. This award also funds the development of next-generation electronics, which will enable the identification of the radio emission with any of the variety of signatures brought about by complex properties of the ice that have been observed by ARA. This award also funds ARA’s broader impacts activities. ARA will continue to engage secondary-school, undergraduate, and graduate students in its cutting-edge research. This award funds continued operations and data taking for the Askaryan Radio Array (ARA), a neutrino astrophysics experiment with world-leading sensitivity to ultra-high energy (UHE, >10^17 eV) neutrinos expected from astrophysical sources and cosmic-ray induced cosmogenic interactions. ARA has the potential to make a first discovery of UHE neutrinos over the term of this award, which would be the highest energy neutrinos ever observed, provide a first glimpse of the universe at cosmic distances in this energy regime, and be the first observation of interactions at higher center-of-mass energies than those produced the LHC. This award will also enable the development of the new ARA-Next triggering system, a multi-channel triggering system based on the state-of-the-art Radio Frequency System on a Chip (RFSoC). ARA-Next would increase ARA’s sensitivity to unique signatures of radio emission from neutrino interactions that are expected based on ARA’s measurements of radio impulses in the South Pole ice. This award also funds ARA’s broader impacts activities. ARA will continue to engage secondary-school, undergraduate, and graduate students in its cutting-edge research. In addition, ARA will develop a new IceCube Masterclass program where high school students will learn about identifying signatures of UHE neutrinos by identifying the same signatures as ARA-Next. The program will serve as a pipeline for students who will themselves contribute to ARA research as undergraduates. The award is aligned with the NSF Big Idea of Windows on the Universe: the Era of Multi-messenger Astrophysics as it coordinates the use of multi-messenger observations utilizing potentially the highest energy neutrinos ever detected which might arise from the universe's highest energy cosmic sources of particles. 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.