| NSF Org: |
PHY Division Of Physics |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | August 19, 2021 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | August 24, 2022 |
| Award Number: | 2112352 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Nigel Sharp
nsharp@nsf.gov (703)292-4905 PHY Division Of Physics MPS Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2021 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2024 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $607,503.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $697,645.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2022 = $90,142.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
5801 S ELLIS AVE CHICAGO IL US 60637-5418 (773)702-8669 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
5640 South Ellis Ave Chicago IL US 60637-1433 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): |
WoU-Windows on the Universe: T, Particle Astrophysics/Cosmic P, PHYSICS-BROADEN PARTICIPATION |
| Primary Program Source: |
01002122DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.049 |
ABSTRACT
This award supports research in relativity and relativistic astrophysics and it addresses the priority areas of NSF's "Windows on the Universe" Big Idea. Observations of high energy astrophysical neutrinos further our understanding of the most powerful cosmic ray accelerators and explosive events in the universe. Combining astrophysical neutrino observations with observations from other messengers like photons, cosmic rays, and gravitational waves allows us to view the most violent processes in the universe through multiple lenses and make new insights into the physics that drives them. Neutrino observations with IceCube have shown that the neutrino sky is complex and dynamic, revealing both an unresolved, but steady, background of neutrinos and flares of neutrinos associated with a blazar. The work performed under this award will establish the first connection between a radio neutrino telescope and other multi-messenger observatories, expanding our multi-messenger view of the universe to include the highest-energy neutrinos. In addition, this work will enable a broad range of interdisciplinary science, from glaciology to biology, and engage people from a broad range of backgrounds from around the world in multi-messenger astrophysics.
The Radio Neutrino Observatory in Greenland is currently under construction at Summit Station and is optimized to search for the radio flash generated by neutrino interactions in polar ice, building on the combined successes and expertise of earlier generations of radio detectors. Its leading sensitivity, large footprint, and precision pointing will deliver unprecedented measurements of the high-energy neutrino flux. RNO-G is also the first ultra-high energy neutrino observatory with a view of the Northern sky. As such it has unique capabilities for multi-messenger observations of the highest energy neutrinos sources, including those initiated by lower-energy neutrino observations made with IceCube. The work performed under this award will provide the necessary upgrades to the RNO-G project, as it is being built, to realize its potential as a state-of-the-art instrument fully integrated into the world-wide network of multi-messenger observatories. This proposed program will improve RNO-G's sensitivity and angular resolution and enable it to respond rapidly to important targets, necessary advancements for multi-messenger campaigns. This work will lay the groundwork to provide the broader multi-messenger community high-quality event reconstructions shortly after the first high-energy neutrino candidates are identified. Under this award, the proposal team will (1) enhance neutrino pointing resolution through improved antenna designs and coincident observations in multiple stations, (2) develop real-time event processing capabilities, allowing for quicker turnaround on candidates and increased trigger rates to improve sensitivity, and (3) enable RNO-G to respond to incoming multi-messenger alerts from leading observatories, temporarily boosting sensitivity in the alert direction. The team will use these advances to conduct the first searches for multi-messenger point sources and transient sources with RNO-G.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The Radio Neutrino Observatory in Greenland (RNO-G) is large ground-based radio array at Summit Station in Greenland designed to make the first detection of the highest energy astrophysical neutrinos to learn about the nature and cosmic distribution of the highest energy astrophysical particle accelerators in the universe. The RNO-G collaboration is an international collaboration that consists of 18 institutions in the U.S. and Europe. RNO-G is currently under construction, and will be an array of 35 radio detectors spread in a km-scale grid. The UChicago group is the leader in hardware development and deployment across the collaboration. Eight stations have been installed between 2021 and 2024, with plans to continue construction to the full array size. The first seven stations were deployed in 2021-2022, and 2023, there was a lighter field season season for maintenance and calibration of stations. In 2024, one additional station was deployed, and the power systems were upgraded to include wind turbines and a more easily serviceable solar power system. In addition, we upgraded the data acquisition systems to include an upgraded digitizer board in 2024.
This award supports efforts to expand the capabilities of RNO-G to enable multi-messenger astrophysics with the highest energy neutrinos. We have developed and implemented a timing system that allows coincident observations in multiple stations, which leads to extremely good pointing resolution for some neutrino events detected by RNO-G. We have developed the capability for RNO-G to respond to incoming multi-messenger alerts from leading observatories around the world, although we have not yet implemented this technology on the detectors that are installed in Greenland.
RNO-G teams with glaciologists and biologists for a broad range of science at Summit Station, enabling detailed measurements of surface elevation, horizontal ice flow, analysis of path-delay effects, and reflectometry.
Last Modified: 09/09/2024
Modified by: Abigail G Vieregg
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