WoU-MMA: Very-High-Energy Neutrino Observations with the Trinity Demonstrator Cherenkov Telescope

This project will open one of the last unexplored windows on the Universe: the ultrahigh-energy neutrino window. It promises transformative impact, as detection of neutrinos at these extreme energies will answer some of the most profound questions in astroparticle physics and push the boundaries of our understanding of the Universe. This study will prove the concept for Trinity, a future experiment for air-shower imaging.

This advanced neutrino instrument would greatly improve US research infrastructure in this field and help to maintain leadership. The award helps to create next-generation scientific leaders by introducing undergraduate students to frontier research, and by training graduate students and early-career postdoctoral scientists.

The work will demonstrate the effectiveness of air-shower imaging with compact Cherenkov telescopes for VHE-UHE-neutrino detection. The Georgia-Tech group has installed and operates a small Cherenkov telescope, the Demonstrator, on Frisco Peak in Utah. The Demonstrator is the most sensitive operating air-shower imaging VHE-UHE-neutrino detector.

It images the upward-going particle shower caused by a tau neutrino entering the Earth at a shallow angle and interacts to produce a tau that emerges from the ground and decays in the atmosphere. The technique is known as Earth-skimming. The project expects to: observe the first-ever VHE-UHE neutrinos, prove the long-term stability and reliability of the detection technique, demonstrate remote operation of the telescope, and study background events and advanced analysis techniques.

This project advances the objectives of "Windows on the Universe: the Era of Multi-Messenger Astrophysics", one of the 10 Big Ideas for Future NSF Investments.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.