Speaker
Description
NuRadioMC is a framework for the simulation of ultra-high-energy neutrino detectors that measure the radio signal emitted in neutrino-induced particle cascades. It is used in different radio neutrino experiments, such as RNO-G and is partly adopted by the cosmic-ray detectors LOFAR and SKA. The software enables end-to-end simulation of all relevant components starting with the neutrino interaction, the following radio emission that arises from the Askaryan effect, the radio propagation throughout the medium, and the detailed detector response. NuRadioMC is designed to provide a flexible modular framework that can be used for various detector setups, with different modules tailored to different aspects of the simulation. For example, the simulation of the radio ray paths in ice can currently be done with a computationally demanding numerical solver or a significantly faster analytical approach that relies on the usage of a simple exponential refractive index model.
However, measurements at Summit Station show that the refractive index in the Greenlandic ice sheet is better described with a three-layer exponential model instead of a single exponential. This is particularly true for shallow depths above -100 m, where the properties of the medium are strongly influenced by snow settlements and subsequent freezing of this layer.
In this contribution, we present an extension to the analytic ray-tracing method for multilayered exponential refractive index models, where the full refractive index profile is described by a collection of different single-exponential layers. This approach also enables a realistic exponential refractive index description of the atmosphere and allows us to model signal propagation over non-smooth changes in the refractive index. This talk will present the fundamentals of the multilayered analytic ray-tracing method and highlight the performance comparison to other methods. It will also provide an overview of the recent developments and current status of NuRadioMC.