A recent experiment at Antarctica has captured steep, upward signals that cannot be explained by neutrinos or cosmic rays. Researchers now suspect unknown forces at play. The Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) experiment detected radio pulses coming from beneath the ice, not above, which suggests particles traveled through thousands of kilometers of solid rock before emerging.
The ANITA team used passive tech to set a record for next-gen data center infrastructure. However, this time, the signals didn’t behave as expected. The radio waves came from angles as steep as 30 degrees below the horizon, making it difficult to determine if they were caused by neutrinos or something else.
Researchers compared the ANITA data with information from two other major neutrino detectors and used extensive simulations to eliminate background noise. Despite these efforts, the signals remain “anomalous.” A new detector, PUEO, is being built to offer greater sensitivity and better chances of identifying what caused the unusual emissions.
The findings raise the possibility of unknown particles or new forms of interaction among known particles. While the mystery remains unsolved, researchers are hopeful that future flights will bring answers. The study’s results are published in Physical Review Letters.
Source: https://interestingengineering.com/science/antarctic-detector-picks-up-signals-that-defy-all-known-laws-of-particle-physics