The Giant Radio Array for Neutrino Detection experiment

The Giant Radio Array for Neutrino Detection (GRAND) experiment represents a groundbreaking venture at the forefront of astroparticle physics. This ambitious project aims to explore the cosmos through an innovative detection methodology, using a vast array of radio antennas distributed across extensive regions of Earth's surface.

 

GRAND's primary objective is to discover and study ultra-high-energy (UHE > 10 EeV) cosmic neutrinos. By leveraging Earth's atmospheric medium as a giant detector, GRAND harnesses the radio emissions produced when these UHE neutrinos interact with the atmosphere, enabling the reconstruction of their properties and origins. GRAND will be the largest cosmic-ray detector, with a detection rate of UHE cosmic rays 20 times larger than currently operating experiments. Thus, GRAND science goals also include studying UHE cosmic-ray sources, cosmic radio background, the opacity to UHE gamma rays, fundamental neutrino physics, astrophysical radio transients, and the cosmic epoch of reionization.

 

The experiment's innovative design integrates advanced radio detection techniques and state-of-the-art data analysis algorithms, allowing for the identification and characterization of neutrino interactions with unprecedented sensitivity and precision. With its large-scale deployment spanning immense geographical areas, GRAND seeks to unveil the mysteries behind the sources and mechanisms generating these UHE neutrinos, offering unprecedented insights into the most energetic processes in the universe.

 

Through its pioneering approach, the GRAND experiment aspires to significantly advance our understanding of cosmic phenomena, such as active galactic nuclei, gamma-ray bursts, supernovae, and other astrophysical events associated with the production of UHE neutrinos. In this talk I will discuss the scientific motivation, the detector design, and the status of the R&D prototypes.