Design and Initial Performance of the Askaryan Radio Array Prototype EeV Neutrino Detector at the South Pole ...

• Main Authors: Allison, P., Auffenberg, J., Bard, R., Beatty, J. J., Besson, D. Z., Boeser, S., Chen, C., Chen, P., Connolly, A., Davies, J., DuVernois, M., Fox, B., Gorham, P. W., Grashorn, E. W., Hanson, K., Haugen, J., Helbing, K., Hill, B., Hoffman, K. D., Huang, M., Huang, M. H. A., Ishihara, A., Karle, A., Kennedy, D., Landsman, H., Laundrie, A., Liu, T. C., Macchiarulo, L., Mase, K., Meures, T., Meyhandan, R., Miki, C., Morse, R., Newcomb, M., Nichol, R. J., Ratzlaff, K., Richman, M., Ritter, L., Rotter, B., Sandstrom, P., Seckel, D., Touart, J., Varner, G. S., Wang, M. -Z., Weaver, C., Wendorff, A., Yoshida, S., Young, R.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: arXiv 2011
• Subjects: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics astro-ph.IM; High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena astro-ph.HE; FOS Physical sciences; Amundsen-Scott; South pole
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.1105.2854; https://arxiv.org/abs/1105.2854

We report on studies of the viability and sensitivity of the Askaryan Radio Array (ARA), a new initiative to develop a Teraton-scale ultra-high energy neutrino detector in deep, radio-transparent ice near Amundsen-Scott station at the South Pole. An initial prototype ARA detector system was installed in January 2011, and has been operating continuously since then. We report on studies of the background radio noise levels, the radio clarity of the ice, and the estimated sensitivity of the planned ARA array given these results, based on the first five months of operation. Anthropogenic radio interference in the vicinity of the South Pole currently leads to a few-percent loss of data, but no overall effect on the background noise levels, which are dominated by the thermal noise floor of the cold polar ice, and galactic noise at lower frequencies. We have also successfully detected signals originating from a 2.5 km deep impulse generator at a distance of over 3 km from our prototype detector, confirming prior ... : 25 pages, 37 figures, this version with improved ice attenuation length analysis; for submission to Astroparticle Physics ...