ANtarctic Impulse Transient Antenna
Encyclopedia
The AA experiment has been designed to study ultra-high-energy (UHE) cosmic neutrino
s by detecting the radio pulses emitted by their interacting with the Antarctic
ice sheet. This is to be accomplished using an array of 36 radio antennas (cylindrically arranged with an approximate radius of 3m and a height of 5m) suspended from a helium balloon
flying at a height of about 35,000 meters.
The neutrinos, with energies on the order of 1018 eV, produce radio pulses in the ice because of the Askaryan effect
. It is believed that these high-energy cosmic neutrinos result from interaction of ultra-high-energy
(1020 eV) cosmic ray
s with the photons of the cosmic microwave background radiation
. It is thus hoped that the ANITA experiment can shed light on the origin of these cosmic rays.
, Antarctica in the summer of 2006-07.
The array should travel around the continent with the circumpolar winds for approximately a month before being recovered by the CSBF. Each successive mission (if funded) would be at two year intervals.
, University of California, Los Angeles
, The Ohio State University, the University of California at Irvine, Washington University, and the University of Minnesota at Twin Cities
.
Neutrino
A neutrino is an electrically neutral, weakly interacting elementary subatomic particle with a half-integer spin, chirality and a disputed but small non-zero mass. It is able to pass through ordinary matter almost unaffected...
s by detecting the radio pulses emitted by their interacting with the Antarctic
Antarctic
The Antarctic is the region around the Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence...
ice sheet. This is to be accomplished using an array of 36 radio antennas (cylindrically arranged with an approximate radius of 3m and a height of 5m) suspended from a helium balloon
High altitude balloon
High-altitude balloons are unmanned balloons, usually filled with helium or hydrogen that are released into the stratosphere, generally reaching between ....
flying at a height of about 35,000 meters.
The neutrinos, with energies on the order of 1018 eV, produce radio pulses in the ice because of the Askaryan effect
Askaryan effect
The Askaryan effect is the phenomenon whereby a particle traveling faster than the phase velocity of light in a dense dielectric produces a shower of secondary charged particles which contain a charge anisotropy and thus emits a cone of coherent radiation in the radio or microwave part of the...
. It is believed that these high-energy cosmic neutrinos result from interaction of ultra-high-energy
Ultra-high-energy cosmic ray
In astroparticle physics, an ultra-high-energy cosmic ray or extreme-energy cosmic ray is a cosmic ray with an extreme kinetic energy, far beyond both its rest mass and energies typical of other cosmic rays....
(1020 eV) cosmic ray
Cosmic ray
Cosmic rays are energetic charged subatomic particles, originating from outer space. They may produce secondary particles that penetrate the Earth's atmosphere and surface. The term ray is historical as cosmic rays were thought to be electromagnetic radiation...
s with the photons of the cosmic microwave background radiation
CMB
CMB can mean:*The IATA airport code for Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo – Sri Lanka's only international airport*C.M.B., the debut album of American R&B and pop group Color Me Badd...
. It is thus hoped that the ANITA experiment can shed light on the origin of these cosmic rays.
Experimental time frame
ANITA launched from McMurdoMcMurdo Station
McMurdo Station is a U.S. Antarctic research center located on the southern tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand-claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program, a branch of the National...
, Antarctica in the summer of 2006-07.
The array should travel around the continent with the circumpolar winds for approximately a month before being recovered by the CSBF. Each successive mission (if funded) would be at two year intervals.
Collaborators
The current ANITA collaboration team includes members from the University of Hawaii at ManoaUniversity of Hawaii at Manoa
The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a public, co-educational university and is the flagship campus of the greater University of Hawaii system...
, University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
, The Ohio State University, the University of California at Irvine, Washington University, and the University of Minnesota at Twin Cities
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
.
See also
- IceCube Neutrino Observatory
- Radio Ice Cerenkov ExperimentRadio Ice Cerenkov ExperimentRadio Ice Cerenkov Experiment is an experiment designed to detect the Cherenkov emission in the radio regime of the electromagnetic spectrum from the interaction of high energy neutrinos with the Antarctic ice cap...
- Neutrino telescope
- Encounters at the End of the WorldEncounters at the End of the WorldEncounters at the End of the World is an American documentary film by Werner Herzog completed in 2007. The film studies people and places in Antarctica...