2021/10/25 by D. Z. Besson, Besson, DaveZ, Ilya Kravchenko +3
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #FOS: Physical sciences #High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE) #Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM) #Neutrino Physics Research #Radio Astronomy Observations and Technology
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2110.13353
openalex publication_date 2021/10/25 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
To better understand the effect of ice properties on the capabilities of\nradio experiments designed to measure ultra-high energy neutrinos (UHEN), we\nrecently considered the timing and amplitude characteristics of radio-frequency\n(RF) signals propagating along multi-kilometer, primarily horizontal\ntrajectories through cold Polar ice at the South Pole. That analysis indicated\nsatisfactory agreement with a model of ice birefringence based on c-axis data\nculled from the South Pole Ice Core Experiment (SPICE). Here we explore the\ngeometrically complementary case of signals propagating along primarily\nvertical trajectories, using published data from the Askaryan Radio Array (ARA)\nexperiment, supplemented by a re-analysis of older RICE experimental data. The\ntiming characteristics of those data are in general agreement with the same\nbirefringence model. Re-analysis of older RICE data also confirm the\ncorrelation of signal amplitudes reflected from internal-layers with the\ndirection of ice flow, similar to previous observations made along a traverse\nfrom Dome Fuji to the Antarctic coast. These results have two important\nimplications for radio-based UHEN experiments: i) owing to birefringence, the\ntiming characteristics of signals propagating from neutrino-ice interactions,\neither vertically or horizontally, to a distant receiver may be used to infer\nthe distance-to-vertex, which is necessary to estimate the energy of the\nprogenitor neutrino, ii) the measured reflectivity of internal layers may\nresult in previously-unanticipated backgrounds to UHEN searches, requiring\nsignificantly more modeling and simulations to estimate.\n