Minimal Prospects for Radio Detection of Extensive Air Showers in the Atmosphere of Jupiter
Abstract
One possible approach for detecting ultra-high-energy cosmic rays and neutrinos is to search for radio emission from extensive air showers created when they interact in the atmosphere of Jupiter, effectively utilizing Jupiter as a particle detector. We investigate the potential of this approach. For searches with current or planned radio telescopes we find that the effective area for detection of cosmic rays is substantial (∼3 × 107 km2), but the acceptance angle is so small that the typical geometric aperture (∼103 km2 sr) is less than that of existing terrestrial detectors, and cosmic rays also cannot be detected below an extremely high threshold energy (∼1023 eV). The geometric aperture for neutrinos is slightly larger, and greater sensitivity can be achieved with a radio detector on a Jupiter-orbiting satellite, but in neither case is this sufficient to constitute a practical detection technique. Exploitation of the large surface area of Jupiter for detecting ultra-high-energy particles remains a long-term prospect that will require a different technique, such as orbital fluorescence detection.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- July 2016
- DOI:
- 10.3847/0004-637X/825/2/129
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1606.01291
- Bibcode:
- 2016ApJ...825..129B
- Keywords:
-
- astroparticle physics;
- cosmic rays;
- neutrinos;
- planets and satellites: individual: Jupiter;
- Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena;
- Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 15 pages, 15 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in ApJ