Mottram, M.J. (2012) A search for ultra-high energy neutrinos and cosmic-rays with ANITA-2. Doctoral thesis, UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
The ANtarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) experiment is a balloon-borne array of radio antennas designed to search for ultra-high energy neutrinos by observing the Antarctic ice sheet for radio emission that is expected to arise as a result of the neutrinos’ interaction. ANITA is further able to detect radio emission that arises when ultra-high energy cosmic-rays interact in the Earth’s atmosphere. The second flight of the experiment, ANITA-2, took place in 2008-09 over 31 days. This thesis describes an analysis of the ANITA-2 dataset and presents results from searches for ultra-high energy neutrinos and cosmic-rays. No statistical evidence of emission from neutrino interactions is observed, with two candidate events discovered on a background of 1:13 \pm 0:27. A limit on the diffuse flux of ultra-high energy neutrinos is presented, further model-independent and model-dependent flux limits on selected active galactic nuclei are calculated. Four isolated and one non-isolated cosmic-ray candidates are discovered. The identity of the isolated candidates as cosmic-ray-induced radio emission is confirmed through correlation between observed and expected emission polarisation.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Title: | A search for ultra-high energy neutrinos and cosmic-rays with ANITA-2 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| UCL classification: | UCL > School of BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Physics and Astronomy |
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