A prototype station for ARIANNA: a detector for cosmic neutrinos

Understand

The Antarctic Ross Iceshelf Antenna Neutrino Array (ARIANNA) is a proposed detector for ultra-high energy astrophysical neutrinos.

• It will detect coherent radio Cherenkov emission from the particle showers produced by neutrinos with energies above about 10^17 eV.
• ARIANNA will be built on the Ross Ice Shelf just off the coast of Antarctica, where it will eventually cover about 900 km^2 in surface area.
• There, the ice-water interface below the shelf reflects radio waves, giving ARIANNA sensitivity to downward going neutrinos and improving its sensitivity to horizontally incident neutrinos.