https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-023-12348-3
Regular Article - Experimental Physics
Monte-carlo simulation of the effective lunar aperture for detection of ultra-high energy neutrinos with LOFAR
1
Astrophysical Institute, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium
2
Interuniversity Institute for High-Energy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium
3
JBCA, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, M13 9PL, Manchester, UK
4
Department of Astrophysics/IMAPP, Radboud University Nijmegen, P. O. Box 9010, 6500 GL, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
5
Netherlands Institute of Radio Astronomy (ASTRON), Postbus 2, 7990 AA, Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
6
Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, 53121, Bonn, Germany
7
NIKHEF, Science Park Amsterdam, 1098 XG, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
8
Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, 9747 AD, Groningen, The Netherlands
9
Institut für Astroteilchenphysik (IAP), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), P. O. Box 3640, 76021, Karlsruhe, Germany
10
Department of Physics, Khalifa University, PO Box 127788, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
11
Particles and Fundamental Interactions Division, Institute of Experimental Physics, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
12
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Platanenallee 6, 15738, Zeuthen, Germany
13
ECAP, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
Received:
12
July
2023
Accepted:
7
December
2023
Published online:
18
December
2023
Ultra-high-energy (UHE) cosmic neutrinos interacting with the Moon’s regolith generate particle showers that emit Askaryan radiation. This radiation can be observed from the Earth using ground-based radio telescopes like LOFAR. We simulate the effective detection aperture for UHE neutrinos hitting the Moon. Under the same assumptions, results from this work are in good agreement with previous analytic parameterizations and Monte Carlo codes. The dependence of the effective detection aperture on the observing parameters, such as observing frequency and minimum detection threshold, and lunar characteristics like surface topography have been studied. Using a Monte Carlo simulation, we find that the detectable neutrino energy threshold is lowered when we include a realistic treatment of the inelasticity, transmission coefficient, and surface roughness. Lunar surface roughness at large scales enhances the total aperture for higher observation frequencies (
) but has no significant effect on the LOFAR aperture. However, roughness at scales small compared to the wavelength reduces the aperture at all frequencies.
© The Author(s) 2023
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Funded by SCOAP3. SCOAP3 supports the goals of the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development.
