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2w ago

New PUEO Detector to Probe ANITA’s Unexplained Antarctic Radio Pulses

Researchers are constructing a more powerful balloon detector to investigate signals emerging from beneath Antarctic ice

The unusual radio pulses were detected by the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) experiment, a range of instruments flown on balloons high above Antarctica that are designed to detect radio waves from cosmic rays hitting the atmosphere. (Credit: Stephanie Wissel / Penn State)
Image
ANITA was placed in Antarctica because there is little chance of interference from other signals; to capture the emission signals, the balloon-borne radio detector is sent to fly over stretches of ice, capturing what are called ice showers. Image credit: Stephanie Wissel / Penn State.

Overview

  • ANITA logged radio pulses at about 30° below the horizon, indicating they originated from beneath the ice rather than reflecting off it.
  • Calculations show the signals would have traversed thousands of kilometers of rock, which should have absorbed any radio emissions and prevented detection.
  • No matching events were observed by IceCube or the Pierre Auger Observatory, ruling out known neutrino or cosmic-ray sources.
  • Standard neutrino models fail to account for these upward-going pulses, prompting consideration of potential new particles or unknown physics phenomena.
  • PUEO’s enhanced balloon-borne antennas are being developed to provide greater sensitivity for probing these persistent anomalies.