14–24 Jul 2025
CICG - International Conference Centre - Geneva, Switzerland
Europe/Zurich timezone

EUSO-SPB2 Cherenkov Telescope: Overview and First Neutrino Constraints

21 Jul 2025, 15:20
15m
Room 4

Room 4

Talk Neutrino Astronomy & Physics NU

Speaker

Mary Hall Reno

Description

Earth-skimming tau neutrinos with energies above $\sim 10$ PeV can convert to tau leptons that decay in the atmosphere and initiate upward-going extensive air showers that generate optical Cherenkov signals. On a curtailed NASA balloon flight in May 2023, the Cherenkov telescope (CT) on the Extreme Universe Space Observatory on a Super Pressure Balloon 2 (EUSO-SPB2) was launched and had a short flight at $\sim 30$ km altitude. With some time pointing below the Earth’s limb, EUSO-SPB2 CT data allow searches for neutrino events that yield optical flashes from the forward-beamed Cherenkov light. We present an overview of the CT and report on sensitivity limits for the diffuse astrophysical neutrino flux from flight data as a proof-of-principle demonstration. We also briefly describe how the methodology is extended to potential transient neutrino point sources.

Collaboration(s) JEM-EUSO Collaboration

Authors

Tobias Heibges (Colorado School of Mines) Diksha Garg (University of Iowa) Claire Guépin (Laboratoire Univers Particle Montpellier) John Krizmanic Mary Hall Reno Tonia Venters (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center) Lawrence R. Wiencke

Presentation materials