Trinity: The PeV Neutrino Observatory

Abstract

The Trinity Observatory is a proposed UHE-neutrino detector with a core-energy range of 10 6 GeV-10 10 GeV, bridging the observational gap between IceCube and ultrahigh-energy (UHE) radio detectors. In its final configuration, Trinity is a system of 60 • × 5 • wide field-of-view air-shower imaging telescopes that detect Earth-skimming tau neutrinos from mountain tops. Trinity's primary science objectives are the extension of the IceCube measured diffuse neutrino flux to UHE energies, detecting cosmogenic neutrinos, and observing neutrino sources. Over a ten-year observation period, Trinity will detect about 60 diffuse UHE neutrinos, provided the IceCube measured diffuse neutrino spectrum does break above PeV energies. Trinity will make critical measurements to study flavor physics and neutrino cross-sections at energies that are out of reach for accelerators. The project's status is discussed here, focusing on the Trinity Demonstrator, a one-square-meter air-shower imaging telescope we deployed on Frisco Peak, Utah, in July 2023. We aim to verify the technology and understand potential backgrounds with the Demonstrator.