Constraints on the flux of Ultra-High Energy neutrinos from WSRT observations

Abstract

Ultra-high energy (UHE) neutrinos and cosmic rays initiate particle cascades underneath the Moon's surface. These cascades have a negative charge excess and radiate Cherenkov radio emission in a process known as the Askaryan effect. The optimal frequency window for observation of these pulses with radio telescopes on the Earth is around 150 MHz. By observing the Moon with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope array we are able to set a new limit on the UHE neutrino flux. The PuMa II backend is used to monitor the Moon in 4 frequency bands between 113 and 175 MHz with a sampling frequency of 40 MHz. The narrowband radio interference is digitally filtered out and the dispersive effect of the Earth's ionosphere is compensated for. A trigger system is implemented to search for short pulses. By inserting simulated pulses in the raw data, the detection efficiency for pulses of various strength is calculated. With 47.6 hours of observation time, we are able to set a limit on the UHE neutrino flux. This new limit is an order of magnitude lower than existing limits. In the near future, the digital radio array LOFAR will be used to achieve an even lower limit.

13 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

References in corpus (4)

• KM3NeT: Towards a km3 Mediterranean Neutrino Telescope
• New Limits on the Ultra-high Energy Cosmic Neutrino Flux from the ANITA Experiment
• Improved flux limits for neutrinos with energies above 10${}^{22}$ eV from observations with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope
• Discovery and timing of the first 8gr8 Cygnus survey pulsars

Cited by in corpus (23)

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• Constraints on the Diffuse Flux of Ultra-High Energy Neutrinos from Four Years of Askaryan Radio Array Data in Two Stations
• A new limit on the Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic-Ray flux with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope
• Askaryan radiation from neutrino-induced showers in ice
• The sensitivity of past and near-future lunar radio experiments to ultra-high-energy cosmic rays and neutrinos
• Not quite black holes as dark matter
• A lunar radio experiment with the Parkes radio telescope for the LUNASKA project
• Optimized Trigger for Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic-Ray and Neutrino Observations with the Low Frequency Radio Array
• A limit on the ultra-high-energy neutrino flux from lunar observations with the Parkes radio telescope
• Overview of lunar detection of ultra-high energy particles and new plans for the SKA
• Noise statistics in a fast digital radio receiver: the Bedlam backend for the Parkes Radio Telescope
• Status and Strategies of Current LUNASKA Lunar Cherenkov Observations with the Parkes Radio Telescope
• Non-collider searches for stable massive particles
• Ultra High Energy Neutrinos: Absorption, Thermal Effects and Signatures
• Detection of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays and Neutrinos with Lunar Orbital Radio Telescope
• A new method to calibrate ionospheric pulse dispersion for UHE cosmic ray and neutrino detection using the Lunar Cherenkov technique
• Search for Cosmic Particles with the Moon and LOFAR
• Realtime processing of LOFAR data for the detection of nano-second pulses from the Moon
• Sensitivity of lunar particle-detection experiments
• High Energy Neutrinos and Cosmic Rays