Understanding how ice and wind affect the discovery of EeV neutrinos

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Anna Nelles
• Subject Area: Nuclear and Elementary Particle Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Relativity, Fields
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 556092823

Neutrino detectors, such as the Radio Neutrino Observatory Greenland (RNO-G) seek to discover neutrinos of the highest energies, which are believed to stem from the most powerful astrophysical processes in the Universe. Experimental evidence from all existing prototypes suggests that periods of high winds lead to background signals in the data, which impact our ability to find neutrino signals. Their origin is hypothesized to be caused by triboelectric charging from snow crystals being blown over the surface, however, there is neither a consistent theory nor a conclusive experimental proof at this moment. This project seeks to understand wind-generated signals as background to EeV neutrino searches using radio detectors and to find ways to mitigate them.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigator: Professor Dr. Thomas Mölg