Abstract
In recent years the astro-particle community is involved in the realization of experimental apparatuses for the detection of high energy neutrinos originated in cosmic sources or produced in the interaction of Cosmic Rays with the Cosmic Microwave Background. For neutrino energies in the TeV-PeV range, optical Cherenkov detectors, that have been so far positively exploited by Baikal[1], IceCube[2] and ANTARES[3], are considered optimal. For higher energies, three different experimental techniques are under study: the detection of radio pulses produced by showers induced by a neutrino interaction, the detection of air showers initiated by neutrinos interacting with rocks or deep Earth’s atmosphere and the detection of acoustic waves produced by deposition of energy following the interaction of neutrinos in an acoustically transparent medium. The potential of the acoustic detection technique, first proposed by Askaryan[4], to build very large neutrino detectors is appealing, thanks to the optimal properties of media such as water or ice as sound propagator. Though the studies on this technique are still in an early stage, acoustic positioning systems used to locate the optical modules in underwater Cherenkov neutrino detectors, give the possibility to study the ambient noise and provide important information for the future analysis of acoustic data.
Highlights
The interest in the study of neutrinos above 1017eV, as a tool to investigate several open questions in the fields of high energy astro-particle physics and astrophysics, has grown steadily in recent years
Neutrinos created in cosmic sources or produced in the interaction of Ultra High Energy (UHE) protons with the cosmic microwave background via the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin mechanism[5], could provide complementary information to UHE charged cosmic ray and high energy gamma ray measurements
The acoustic detection technique of neutrino induced cascades in water is based on the thermoacoustic effect[4]; the cascade energy is deposited in a narrow region of the medium, it induces a local heating and results in a rapid expansion of the water
Summary
The interest in the study of neutrinos above 1017eV, as a tool to investigate several open questions in the fields of high energy astro-particle physics and astrophysics, has grown steadily in recent years. Neutrinos are the only particle usable to probe the UHE non-thermal universe at distances above tens of megaparsec; all other particles are subject to interactions or decay, their use is limited to the local universe. Neutrino flux at these energies (> 1017eV), derived from cosmic ray[6] and gamma ray[7] measurements, is very small and the expected event rate is of the order of 0.1km−2yr−1; detection of UHE neutrinos with a reasonable statistics may need a detector of at least 100km size. The acoustic detection technique could be the basic ingredient to instrument such a huge volume with a reasonable number of sensors thanks to the large attenuation length(∼km) of the generated sound signal in water
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
