A limit on the ultra-high-energy neutrino flux from lunar observations with the Parkes radio telescope

Abstract

We report a limit on the ultra-high-energy neutrino flux based on a non-detection of radio pulses from neutrino-initiated particle cascades in the Moon, in observations with the Parkes radio telescope undertaken as part of the LUNASKA project. Due to the improved sensitivity of these observations, which had an effective duration of 127 hours and a frequency range of 1.2-1.5 GHz, this limit extends to lower neutrino energies than those from previous lunar radio experiments, with a detection threshold below 10^20 eV. The calculation of our limit allows for the possibility of lunar-origin pulses being misidentified as local radio interference, and includes the effect of small-scale lunar surface roughness. The targeting strategy of the observations also allows us to place a directional limit on the neutrino flux from the nearby radio galaxy Centaurus A.

Accepted by Physical Review D; 11 pages, 8 figures, 1 table

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Cited by in corpus (7)

• The neutrino-nucleon cross section at UHE and its astrophysical implications
• The sensitivity of past and near-future lunar radio experiments to ultra-high-energy cosmic rays and neutrinos
• Askaryan radiation from neutrino-induced showers in ice
• A lunar radio experiment with the Parkes radio telescope for the LUNASKA project
• Near-future discovery of point sources of ultra-high-energy neutrinos
• Overview of lunar detection of ultra-high energy particles and new plans for the SKA
• Sensitivity of lunar particle-detection experiments