Optimizing the triggering strategy for the detection of cosmic rays with the Radio Neutrino Observatory Greenland (RNO-G)

• Main Author: Pyras, Lilly
• Other Authors: Nelles, Anna Friederike, Franckowiak, Anna
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Greenland
• Online Access: https://bib-pubdb1.desy.de/record/456326; https://bib-pubdb1.desy.de/search?p=id:%22PUBDB-2021-01462%22

A promising technique to measure neutrinos above 10 PeV is the detection of radio signals generated by the Askaryan effect. The effect is caused by neutrino-induced particle cascades in dense media e.g. ice. Starting in 2021, RNO-G, a new detector using this technique and containing in-ice detector strings will be deployed in Greenland. One of the main challenges of the data analysis will be distinguishing between a cosmic ray muon and a real neutrino event. By building the detector with surface antennas we can use the established method of radio detection of air showers to identify incoming muons and use these signals as veto mechanism in the neutrino detection. An efficient veto trigger will lend higher confidence in identifying neutrinos and prevent the false positive neutrino detection caused by muons. To obtain an efficient veto, a surface trigger mechanism has to be developed and optimized. The trigger is based on the trace envelope in a frequencyband from 80MHz to 180MHz. A coincidence of two channels is requires in order to trigger. One RNO-G station will be sensitive to air showers from 1 × 10^17 eV on. The expected number of detected cosmic rays is 3.17 ± 1.69 per day and station. The overall veto efficiency on a muon event is 29 %.