Amy Connolly (OSU)
Date: Tue. March 19th, 2024, 11:30 am-12:30 pmLocation: Foldy Room, Rock 221
Ultra high energy neutrino detection in Antarctic ice: an evolving story
High energy astrophysics is now being probed using four different energetic messengers: (charged) cosmic rays, gamma rays, gravitational waves, and neutrinos. The past decade and a half has been marked by discoveries of gravitational waves and neutrinos up to O(10^16 eV). Neutrinos in the ultra-high energy (UHE) regime (above 10^18 eV) are an important missing piece of the multi-messenger picture of the high energy universe, and will also be important probes of new physics. Experiments using radio techniques in Antarctic ice are the most promising for the discovery of UHE neutrinos. Results and experience from past and current radio experiments are informing the design of next-generation radio arrays that aim to pioneer UHE neutrino astronomy. After an overview of the status of the field, I will focus on important insights that we have gained so far about the Antarctic ice sheet in particular, and the ways in which those insights pose both challenges and exciting opportunities for UHE neutrino detection. I will also highlight the GENETIS Collaboration, based at OSU, which uses evolutionary algorithms to optimize detector designs while accounting for our most up-to-date knowledge of the complex environment.