Observation of classically `forbidden' electromagnetic wave propagation and implications for neutrino detection.

doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2018/07/055

Title: Observation of classically `forbidden' electromagnetic wave propagation and implications for neutrino detection.

Abstract

Ongoing experimental efforts in Antarctica seek to detect ultra-high energy neutrinos by measurement of radio-frequency (RF) Askaryan radiation generated by the collision of a neutrino with an ice molecule. An array of RF antennas, deployed either in-ice or in-air, is used to infer the properties of the neutrino. To evaluate their experimental sensitivity, such experiments require a refractive index model for ray tracing radio-wave trajectories from a putative in-ice neutrino interaction point to the receiving antennas; this gives the degree of signal absorption or ray bending from source to receiver. The gradient in the density profile over the upper 200 meters of Antarctic ice, coupled with Fermat's least-time principle, implies ray "bending" and the existence of "forbidden" zones for predominantly horizontal signal propagation at shallow depths. After re-deriving the formulas describing such shadowing, we report on experimental results that, somewhat unexpectedly, demonstrate the existence of electromagnetic wave transport modes from nominally shadowed regions. Finally, the fact that this shadow-signal propagation is observed both at South Pole and the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica suggests that the effect may be a generic property of polar ice, with potentially important implications for experiments seeking to detect neutrinos.

Authors:

Barwick, S. W. ^[1]; Berg, E. C. ^[1]; Besson, D. Z. ^[2]; Gaswint, G. ^[1]; Glaser, C. ^[1]; Hallgren, A. ^[3]; Hanson, J. C. ^[4]; Klein, S. R. ^[5]; Kleinfelder, S. ^[1]; Köpke, L. ^[6]; Kravchenko, I. ^[7]; Lahmann, R. ^[8]; Latif, U. ^[9]; Nam, J. ^[10]; Nelles, A. ^[11]; Persichilli, C. ^[1]; Sandstrom, P. ^[12]; Tatar, J. ^[1]; Unger, E. ^[3]

Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States)
Univ. of Kansas, Lawrence, KS (United States); National Research Nuclear Univ., Moscow (Russia)
Uppsala Univ. (Sweden)
Whittier College, Whittier, CA (United States)
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Univ. of Mainz, Mainz (Germany)
Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE (United States)
Friedrich-Alexander Univ. at Erlangen-Nurnberg, Erlangen (Germany)
Univ. of Kansas, Lawrence, KS (United States)
National Taiwan Univ., Taipei (Taiwan)
Humboldt Univ. of Berlin (Germany); Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany)
Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)

Publication Date:: 2018-07-24

Research Org.:: Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: USDOE Office of Science (SC)

OSTI Identifier:: 1532333

Grant/Contract Number:: [AC02-05CH11231]

Resource Type:: Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics

Additional Journal Information:: [ Journal Volume: 2018; Journal Issue: 07]; Journal ID: ISSN 1475-7516

Publisher:: Institute of Physics (IOP)

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS

Citation Formats


                    Barwick, S. W., Berg, E. C., Besson, D. Z., Gaswint, G., Glaser, C., Hallgren, A., Hanson, J. C., Klein, S. R., Kleinfelder, S., Köpke, L., Kravchenko, I., Lahmann, R., Latif, U., Nam, J., Nelles, A., Persichilli, C., Sandstrom, P., Tatar, J., and Unger, E. Observation of classically `forbidden' electromagnetic wave propagation and implications for neutrino detection..  United States: N. p., 2018. 
        Web.  doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2018/07/055.

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                    Barwick, S. W., Berg, E. C., Besson, D. Z., Gaswint, G., Glaser, C., Hallgren, A., Hanson, J. C., Klein, S. R., Kleinfelder, S., Köpke, L., Kravchenko, I., Lahmann, R., Latif, U., Nam, J., Nelles, A., Persichilli, C., Sandstrom, P., Tatar, J., & Unger, E. Observation of classically `forbidden' electromagnetic wave propagation and implications for neutrino detection..  United States.  doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2018/07/055.

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                    Barwick, S. W., Berg, E. C., Besson, D. Z., Gaswint, G., Glaser, C., Hallgren, A., Hanson, J. C., Klein, S. R., Kleinfelder, S., Köpke, L., Kravchenko, I., Lahmann, R., Latif, U., Nam, J., Nelles, A., Persichilli, C., Sandstrom, P., Tatar, J., and Unger, E. Tue .  
        "Observation of classically `forbidden' electromagnetic wave propagation and implications for neutrino detection.".  United States.  doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2018/07/055.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1532333.

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@article{osti_1532333,

  title        = {Observation of classically `forbidden' electromagnetic wave propagation and implications for neutrino detection.},

  author       = {Barwick, S. W. and Berg, E. C. and Besson, D. Z. and Gaswint, G. and Glaser, C. and Hallgren, A. and Hanson, J. C. and Klein, S. R. and Kleinfelder, S. and Köpke, L. and Kravchenko, I. and Lahmann, R. and Latif, U. and Nam, J. and Nelles, A. and Persichilli, C. and Sandstrom, P. and Tatar, J. and Unger, E.},

  abstractNote = {Ongoing experimental efforts in Antarctica seek to detect ultra-high energy neutrinos by measurement of radio-frequency (RF) Askaryan radiation generated by the collision of a neutrino with an ice molecule. An array of RF antennas, deployed either in-ice or in-air, is used to infer the properties of the neutrino. To evaluate their experimental sensitivity, such experiments require a refractive index model for ray tracing radio-wave trajectories from a putative in-ice neutrino interaction point to the receiving antennas; this gives the degree of signal absorption or ray bending from source to receiver. The gradient in the density profile over the upper 200 meters of Antarctic ice, coupled with Fermat's least-time principle, implies ray "bending" and the existence of "forbidden" zones for predominantly horizontal signal propagation at shallow depths. After re-deriving the formulas describing such shadowing, we report on experimental results that, somewhat unexpectedly, demonstrate the existence of electromagnetic wave transport modes from nominally shadowed regions. Finally, the fact that this shadow-signal propagation is observed both at South Pole and the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica suggests that the effect may be a generic property of polar ice, with potentially important implications for experiments seeking to detect neutrinos.},

  doi          = {10.1088/1475-7516/2018/07/055},

  journal      = {Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics},

  number       = [07],

  volume       = [2018],

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {2018},

  month        = {7}

}

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DOI: 10.1088/1475-7516/2018/07/055

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