Particle Physics Seminar

Speaker: Dr. Mohammad Ful Hossain Seikh, University of Kansas Title: Searching for the Universe’s Highest-Energy Neutrinos with Radio Detectors Abstract: At the highest energies, neutrinos are among the cleanest messengers of the Universe, but also among the hardest to detect. Radio experiments offer a way to reach this regime by using polar ice as both a target and detection medium: a neutrino interaction can produce a nanosecond Askaryan radio pulse that travels through the ice and can be detected by sparse antenna arrays over large volumes. In this talk, I will introduce the basic detection concept and the Askaryan Radio Array (ARA) at the South Pole, then highlight selected ARA results that illustrate how these searches work in practice. I will also discuss the radio backgrounds that shape the search, from thermal noise and continuous-wave contamination to solar, environmental, and human-made sources. The goal is to show how detector physics, RF engineering, and data analysis come together in the hunt for the Universe’s highest-energy neutrinos. Wednesday, September 9, 4-5 pm Wean 7316