Speaker
Description
The Payload for Ultrahigh Energy Observations (PUEO) is a long-duration balloon experiment designed to detect ultra-high-energy (UHE) neutrinos with energies above 1 EeV. The instrument consists of a Main Instrument (MI) mounted on the payload and a Low-Frequency (LF) instrument deployed beneath the payload. The LF instrument comprises eight sinuous antennas operating in the 50–500 MHz band, complementing the 96 dual-polarized horn antennas of the MI, which covers the 300–1200 MHz range. The LF system is optimized to detect radio emissions from air showers induced by cosmic rays and Earth-skimming tau neutrinos. By extending sensitivity to lower frequencies, the LF instrument enhances PUEO’s capability to characterize signals and improve event reconstruction. In this talk I will review PUEO’s science goals and instrument performance during its successful flight from December 19, 2025 to January 11, 2026, with particular emphasis on the design, implementation, and performance of the LF system.