Macroscopic approach to the radar echo scatter from high-energy particle cascades

Abstract

To probe the cosmic particle flux at the highest energies, large volumes of dense material like ice have to be monitored. This can be achieved by exploiting the radio signal. In this work, we provide a macroscopic model to predict the radar echo signatures found when a radio signal is reflected from a cosmic-ray or neutrino-induced particle cascade propagating in a dense medium like ice. Its macroscopic nature allows for an energy independent run-time, taking less than 10 s for simulating a single scatter event. As a first application, we discuss basic signal properties and simulate the expected signal for the T-576 beam-test experiment at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. We find good signal strength agreement with the only observed radar echo from a high-energy particle cascade to date.

12 pages, 8 figures

References in corpus (6)

• Improved Characterization of the Astrophysical Muon-Neutrino Flux with 9.5 Years of IceCube Data
• Radio detection of Cosmic-Ray Air Showers and High-Energy Neutrinos
• In situ radioglaciological measurements near Taylor Dome, Antarctica and implications for UHE neutrino astronomy
• Simulation of in-ice cosmic ray air shower induced particle cascades
• In situ, broadband measurement of the radio frequency attenuation length at Summit Station, Greenland
• The SLAC T-510 experiment for radio emission from particle showers: detailed simulation study and interpretation