Sensitivity of JEM-EUSO to GRB Neutrinos

Abstract

JEM-EUSO is a mission to study ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) by measuring the fluorescence light from giant air showers at the altitude of the International Space Station. In the tilted mode, JEM-EUSO will become very sensitive to the Čerenkov light from the earth skimming tau neutrinos at the energy range of $10^{16-18}$eV. In this paper we will discuss high-energy tau neutrinos from nearby gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). From simulations of cascade in GRB photon fields including various hadronic/leptonic processes, we estimate the neutrino flux from GRBs. Our results show that both muons and pions are dominant sources of neutrinos at the energy range of $10^{16-18}$ eV. We discuss the possibility of detecting the Čerenkov light of upward going showers from Earth skimming tau neutrinos coming from some closest GRBs.

Proc 31st ICRC, Lodz, Poland, 2009