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Next-Gen PUEO Detector to Probe Enigmatic Antarctic Radio Signals

A fresh review of ANITA data confirms steep-angle pulses piercing kilometers of rock defy neutrino explanations, prompting plans for the PUEO observatory to investigate their origin.

ANITA comprises instruments that are flown on balloons, designed to detect radio waves.

Overview

  • The Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna recorded unexplained radio pulses about 40 km above Antarctica during flights in 2006 and 2014.
  • New findings published in Physical Review Letters highlight that the signals emerged at steep below-horizon angles that conventional physics models cannot accommodate.
  • Researchers have ruled out neutrinos as the source, since such particles would be absorbed or scattered by the intervening thousands of kilometers of rock.
  • Independent observatories including IceCube and the Pierre Auger Observatory have not detected any corresponding events that could clarify the phenomenon.
  • The Payload for Ultrahigh Energy Observations (PUEO) balloon array is under development to capture higher-precision measurements and uncover whether the anomalies signal new physics.