| PI | Institute/Department | |
|---|---|---|
| Wissel, Stephanie Ann |
Penn State, Department of Physics
|
RNO-G is a research project that looks for radio signals created by neutrinos when they interact with polar ice. It is the first ultra-high energy neutrino observatory that can observe the Northern sky. This grant will allow the project to expand by adding new modular stations, with the aim of doubling its current level of sensitivity to these particles. The funding will support the building of antennas and systems to collect data. To set up each new station, researchers will drill three deep holes and install equipment that can work on its own. Enhancements to the experiment will ensure it can achieve its intended sensitivity and function for ten years after the array is finished. During this time, it will gather reliable data that will be shared with the wider community studying multimessenger astrophysics.
Neutrinos can probe extreme conditions in astrophysical objects throughout the universe. This award will expand the currently operating Radio Neutrino Observatory in Greenland (RNO-G) which can observe neutrinos in a new energy scale. When combined with observations from other messengers like photons, cosmic rays, and gravitational waves, observations of neutrinos made with RNO-G can further advance our understanding of the most powerful cosmic ray accelerators and explosive events in the universe.
This award will introduce the general public and students to particle astrophysics through workshops, research opportunities, and outreach events and provide infrastructure and engineering opportunities in Greenland.
This project with Belgian and Swedish Research Council collaborators is a continuation of the Wissel (NSF grant 2310122) Radio Neutrino Observatory in Greenland (RNO-G) experiment currently operating at Summit Station. Participants from RNO-G institutions and the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) will travel to Summit Station, Greenland to support additional installations to the existing science array. At each array site, fifteen antennas are deployed on strings 100-m below the ice surface and nine antennas are installed near the surface. Over a two year period (2026 and 2027), research teams will install eight to ten additional stations. In support of this, drill teams will use the BAS BigRAID ice drill to create three 100-meter-deep boreholes at each new site. Science teams will deploy antennas in the boreholes and install supporting surface infrastructure (detector, communications, renewable energy, and power hardware) at each new site, while also performing maintenance and progressive hardware upgrades at existing array sites. In the 2027 season, the teams will also install five near-surface science modules developed by Swedish Research Council collaborators at select array sites. Once the overall array of 35 stations is complete, researchers plan to perform regular maintenance, operations, and calibration of the detector and station array, in order to continue the experiment for ~10 years, pending future funding.
In 2026, three field teams, totaling 11 participants, will travel to Summit Station to continue work on the RNO-G array. Although the majority of the science array components will be installed at off-station locations, participants will sleep at Summit Station each night and conduct their off-station work as day trips. Between June and August, two drill teams will use the BAS BigRAID ice drill system to drill boreholes at five new array sites (Sites 16, 26, 36, 45, and 46). The drill is mounted on a sled and will be towed off-station and between array sites using a PistenBully. Between July and August, the science team will bring five new RNO-G stations online by deploying antennas in boreholes drilled in 2025 (Sites 15, 25, 34, and 35) and 2026 (Site 45), and installing supporting surface hardware at the array sites. The science team will also perform regular maintenance at the eight existing RNO-G stations (Sites 11, 12, 13, 14, 21, 22, 23, and 24). The first drill team will deploy to Summit Station in June via the New York Air National Guard (ANG). The second drill team, science team, and a senior PI will deploy to Summit Station in July via two Twin Otter flights originating in Akureyri, Iceland. Following a roughly one-week period of onsite personnel turnover in July, the first drill team and senior PI will depart Summit Station on the second Twin Otter flight and redeploy via Akureyri. The second drill team and science team will continue off-station drilling and installation operations through August. Throughout the 2026 field season, the teams will utilize the Mobile Science Facility (MSF) as on-station workspace. Science data products totaling 2 GB/day will be transmitted off-site via the Summit Station satellite internet services. The RNO-G array will continue collecting science data during periods while the research team is not onsite and the project will received year-round facility support and onsite assistance from a Battelle ARO science technician.
Battelle ARO will provide Air National Guard coordination for passengers and cargo, Greenland departure fees, Summit Station user days, Kangerlussuaq lodging, generators, snowmachines, operations equipment and trade support, field and safety gear from NSF inventory, science tech support and physical space, power and network connectivity. Logistical support for the work will be funded in part through an NSF PHY award, and through reimbursable arrangements with Belgian Fund for Scientific Research and Swedish Research Council (VR-RFI). All other logistics will be arranged and paid for through the grant.
| Season | Field Site | Date In | Date Out | #People |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2026
|
Greenland - Summit
|
|
|
11
|
|
2027
|
Greenland - Summit
|
|
|
15
|