Reflections on the anomalous ANITA events: the Antarctic subsurface as a possible explanation
The Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) balloon experiment was designed to detect radio signals initiated by high-energy neutrinos and cosmic ray (CR) air showers. These signals are typically discriminated by the polarization and phase inversions of the radio signal. The reflected signal f...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:2df485aba40a4013b3afd3ae6544d9b1 2023-05-15T13:29:36+02:00 Reflections on the anomalous ANITA events: the Antarctic subsurface as a possible explanation Ian M. Shoemaker Alexander Kusenko Peter Kuipers Munneke Andrew Romero-Wolf Dustin M. Schroeder Martin J. Siegert 2020-04-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2020.19 https://doaj.org/article/2df485aba40a4013b3afd3ae6544d9b1 EN eng Cambridge University Press https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0260305520000191/type/journal_article https://doaj.org/toc/0260-3055 https://doaj.org/toc/1727-5644 doi:10.1017/aog.2020.19 0260-3055 1727-5644 https://doaj.org/article/2df485aba40a4013b3afd3ae6544d9b1 Annals of Glaciology, Vol 61, Pp 92-98 (2020) Antarctic glaciology Ice physics Snow physics Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2020.19 2023-03-12T01:31:55Z The Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) balloon experiment was designed to detect radio signals initiated by high-energy neutrinos and cosmic ray (CR) air showers. These signals are typically discriminated by the polarization and phase inversions of the radio signal. The reflected signal from CRs suffer phase inversion compared to a direct ‘tau neutrino’ event. In this paper, we study subsurface reflection, which can occur without phase inversion, in the context of the two anomalous up-going events reported by ANITA. It is found that subsurface layers and firn density inversions may plausibly account for the events, while ice fabric layers and wind ablation crusts could also play a role. This hypothesis can be tested with radar surveying of the Antarctic region in the vicinity of the anomalous ANITA events. Future experiments should not use phase inversion as a sole criterion to discriminate between down-going and up-going events, unless the subsurface reflection properties are well understood. Article in Journal/Newspaper Annals of Glaciology Antarc* Antarctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic The Antarctic Annals of Glaciology 61 81 92 98 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Antarctic glaciology Ice physics Snow physics Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 |
spellingShingle |
Antarctic glaciology Ice physics Snow physics Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 Ian M. Shoemaker Alexander Kusenko Peter Kuipers Munneke Andrew Romero-Wolf Dustin M. Schroeder Martin J. Siegert Reflections on the anomalous ANITA events: the Antarctic subsurface as a possible explanation |
topic_facet |
Antarctic glaciology Ice physics Snow physics Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 |
description |
The Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) balloon experiment was designed to detect radio signals initiated by high-energy neutrinos and cosmic ray (CR) air showers. These signals are typically discriminated by the polarization and phase inversions of the radio signal. The reflected signal from CRs suffer phase inversion compared to a direct ‘tau neutrino’ event. In this paper, we study subsurface reflection, which can occur without phase inversion, in the context of the two anomalous up-going events reported by ANITA. It is found that subsurface layers and firn density inversions may plausibly account for the events, while ice fabric layers and wind ablation crusts could also play a role. This hypothesis can be tested with radar surveying of the Antarctic region in the vicinity of the anomalous ANITA events. Future experiments should not use phase inversion as a sole criterion to discriminate between down-going and up-going events, unless the subsurface reflection properties are well understood. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ian M. Shoemaker Alexander Kusenko Peter Kuipers Munneke Andrew Romero-Wolf Dustin M. Schroeder Martin J. Siegert |
author_facet |
Ian M. Shoemaker Alexander Kusenko Peter Kuipers Munneke Andrew Romero-Wolf Dustin M. Schroeder Martin J. Siegert |
author_sort |
Ian M. Shoemaker |
title |
Reflections on the anomalous ANITA events: the Antarctic subsurface as a possible explanation |
title_short |
Reflections on the anomalous ANITA events: the Antarctic subsurface as a possible explanation |
title_full |
Reflections on the anomalous ANITA events: the Antarctic subsurface as a possible explanation |
title_fullStr |
Reflections on the anomalous ANITA events: the Antarctic subsurface as a possible explanation |
title_full_unstemmed |
Reflections on the anomalous ANITA events: the Antarctic subsurface as a possible explanation |
title_sort |
reflections on the anomalous anita events: the antarctic subsurface as a possible explanation |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2020.19 https://doaj.org/article/2df485aba40a4013b3afd3ae6544d9b1 |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic |
genre |
Annals of Glaciology Antarc* Antarctic |
genre_facet |
Annals of Glaciology Antarc* Antarctic |
op_source |
Annals of Glaciology, Vol 61, Pp 92-98 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0260305520000191/type/journal_article https://doaj.org/toc/0260-3055 https://doaj.org/toc/1727-5644 doi:10.1017/aog.2020.19 0260-3055 1727-5644 https://doaj.org/article/2df485aba40a4013b3afd3ae6544d9b1 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2020.19 |
container_title |
Annals of Glaciology |
container_volume |
61 |
container_issue |
81 |
container_start_page |
92 |
op_container_end_page |
98 |
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1766001388717867008 |