Trinity: An Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescope to Search for Ultra-High-Energy Neutrinos

Brown, Anthony M.; Bagheri, Mahdi; Doro, Michele; Gazda, Eliza; Kieda, Dave; Lin, Chaoxian; Otte, Nepomuk; Taboada, Ignacio; Wang, Andrew

Abstract

Earth-skimming neutrinos are those which travel through the Earth’s crust at a shallow angle. For Ultra-High-Energy (E휈 > 1 PeV; UHE) earth-skimming tau neutrinos, there is a high-probability that the tau lepton created by a neutrino-Earth interaction will emerge from the ground before it decays. When this happens, the decaying tau particle initiates an air shower of relativistic sub-atomic particles which emit Cherenkov radiation. To observe this Cherenkov radiation, we propose the Trinity Observatory. Using a novel optical structure design, pointing at the horizon, Trinity will observe the Cherenkov radiation from upward-going neutrino-induced air showers. Being sensitive to neutrinos in the 1 − 104 PeV energy range, Trinity’s expected sensitivity will have a unique role to play filling the gap between the observed astrophysical neutrinos observed by IceCube and the expected sensitivity of radio UHE neutrino detectors.

Citation

Brown, A. M., Bagheri, M., Doro, M., Gazda, E., Kieda, D., Lin, C., Otte, N., Taboada, I., & Wang, A. (2021, December). Trinity: An Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescope to Search for Ultra-High-Energy Neutrinos. Presented at 37th International Cosmic Ray Conference, Berlin, Germany

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (published)
• Conference Name: 37th International Cosmic Ray Conference
• Publication Date: 2021
• Deposit Date: Nov 1, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 1, 2022
• Book Title: Proceedings of Science: ICRC 2021
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1135298
• Publisher URL: https://pos.sissa.it/395