The Payload for Ultrahigh Energy Observations (PUEO)
mission is a balloon-borne payload which will fly over Antarctica. The
balloon gondola will carry an array of radio frequency (RF) receivers, designed to
measure RF signals from neutrinos passing through the Antarctic ice sheet. It is
based on the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA),
though PUEO will use much more powerful detectors. PUEO was selected by NASA for
funding under the Pioneers Program. and is led by the University of
Chicago, with instrument and gondola elements developed and supported by a number of
institutions. The initial month-long flight is planned for December 2024 during austral
summer for near-continuous daylight and reliable circumpolar wind patterns around
Antarctica. The balloon will be launch from McMurdo Station’s Long Duration Balloon
Facility.
Ultra-high energy neutrinos interact with ice, producing radio emissions through the
Askaryan Effect. A stratospheric balloon can observe the entire Antarctic icesheet
providing an exceedingly large detector volume.
These measurements are best at the highest energies (>1018 eV)
and complement ground-based detectors such as IceCube which are attuned to
lower energy neutrinos. PUEO will also measure extensive air showers (EAS)
from ultra-high energy cosmic rays interacting with the upper atmosphere.
Mission Characteristics
Lifetime : Long-duration balloon flight
(late 2024, with estimated one month flight);
Additional flights during
future austral summers possible
Energy Range : ∼1–1000 EeV
Special Features : Detection of ultra-high energy neutrinos and cosmic rays
Payload :
- Main Instrument. 108 dual-polarization quad-ridge horn attentae measuring
300–1200 MHz radio frequencies, measured across 216 channels,
arranged in 5 rings in 24 azimuthal sectors:
the top four rings are canted 10° downward from the horizon, while the final
lowest ring is canted downward at 40° to improve sensitivity to EAS events.
Electronics onboard will performed phased array interferometry to improve signal
to noise ratios and for better rejection of anthropogenic inteference (typically
from well-defined localized sources): masking of affected antennae will also improve
detector performance.
- Low Frequency Instrument. A suite of 4 dual-polarized attennae
(additional LF horns may be added) which
dangle below the gondola. These collect data in an 8-channel band. This dedicated
system will improve overall sensitivity to cosmic rays and tau lepton decays: data
collected will also inform possible future instruments targeting tau lepton events
specifically.
- Supporting Electronics and Hardware. The Main and Low Frequency Instruments
are connected to onboard processing systems via Radio Frequency over Fibre to support
the 224-channel spectral data collection, digitalized and processed onboard, and
stored for collection in hard drives built specifically to operate in the very cold
high altitude environment and to survive flight-related stress (including hard landing).
The gondola is based on the ANITA flights and is designed to be both strong and
lightweight to meet long-duration balloon requirements.
Science Highlights:
- Detection and characterization of ultra-high energy neutrinos and
cosmic ray events;
- Constraints on astrophyical models for neutron-neutron star mergers;
- Ultra-high energy events from short gamma-ray bursts.
Archive: HEASARC will host PUEO data, products, and catalogs.
