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@PHDTHESIS{Pyras:612609,
      author       = {Pyras, Lilly},
      othercontributors = {Nelles, Anna},
      title        = {{C}osmic {R}ays and the {R}adio {N}eutrino {O}bservatory
                      {G}reenland ({RNO}-{G})},
      school       = {Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg},
      type         = {Dissertation},
      publisher    = {Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU)},
      reportid     = {PUBDB-2024-05403},
      pages        = {141},
      year         = {2024},
      note         = {Dissertation, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität
                      Erlangen-Nürnberg, 2024},
      abstract     = {Neutrinos are unique messengers, as they travel unimpeded
                      over cosmological distances, pointing back to their sources.
                      As their production is tightly coupled to that of ultra-high
                      energy cosmic rays, they could help us to understand the
                      ultra-high energy universe. However, the expected neutrino
                      flux at the highest energies is very low, and the detection
                      of neutrinos is difficult due to their small cross section.
                      Therefore, measuring the neutrino flux requires large
                      detection volumes of dense media. One such effort is the Ra-
                      dio Neutrino Observatory Greenland (RNO-G), which targets
                      the detection of neutrinos above PeV energies in the
                      Greenlandic ice shield. When a neutrino interacts with a
                      nucleus in the ice, it induces particle cascades that
                      produce radio emission via the Askaryan effect. The
                      attenuation length of glacial ice is 𝒪(1 km) at radio
                      frequencies which allows for large, and sparsely
                      instrumented detection volumes. The hybrid design,
                      consisting of antennas deep in the ice and shallow antennas
                      just below the surface, also provides sensitivity to cosmic
                      ray air showers, which improves background rejection for
                      in-ice neutrino events. The focus of this work is the
                      precise estimation of air showers in RNO-G and the
                      identification of atmospheric muons originating from air
                      showers. For this purpose, the surface signal chain of the
                      shallow detector component and its diode trigger are
                      characterized. The digitizer board and trigger are tested
                      for functionality and performance prior to deployment. These
                      studies are essential for understanding the measured signals
                      and making robust event rate predictions. To obtain the
                      number of detected cosmic rays, a detailed Monte Carlo study
                      is performed, which suggests that 3 to 10 air showers per
                      day and seven RNO-G stations are expected to be measured.
                      The energy threshold is around 1e17 eV and depends strongly
                      on the trigger threshold. The performance in air shower
                      detection has a direct impact on the identification of
                      neutrinos, since ultra-high energy muons from air showers
                      are a relevant background for in-ice neutrino detection.
                      Their event rate is subject to large uncertainties due to
                      the extrapolation of hadronic interactions from accelerator
                      energies to the highest energies and the uncertainty of the
                      measured composition of cosmic rays. For every muon, the
                      detection of the corresponding air shower can be used as a
                      veto mechanism. A measurement of the atmospheric muon flux
                      above PeV energies would provide a handle on the forward
                      charm production in quantum chromodynamics.},
      keywords     = {Cosmic rays, Neutrinos, RNO-G, Radio detection, atmospheric
                      muons (Other)},
      cin          = {Z-RAD},
      cid          = {I:(DE-H253)Z-RAD-20210408},
      pnm          = {613 - Matter and Radiation from the Universe (POF4-613)},
      pid          = {G:(DE-HGF)POF4-613},
      experiment   = {EXP:(DE-H253)RNO-G-20230101},
      typ          = {PUB:(DE-HGF)11},
      doi          = {10.25593/OPEN-FAU-957},
      url          = {https://bib-pubdb1.desy.de/record/612609},
}