Designing Optimized Antennas with Greater Sensitivity to Ultra-High Energy Neutrinos Using the Nebulous Evolutionary Algorithm Approach

Oral-Virtual  · Withdrawn

Abstract

Ultra-high energy (UHE) neutrinos require highly-sensitive antennas for detection, and evolutionary algorithms (EAs) can be used to optimize the design of these antennas. EAs are an optimization approach that mimic the process of biological evolution, continually generating variation in a population and selecting individuals to create the next population until a desired set of solutions is reached. The individuals constructed and evolved by the algorithm are represented by geometric shapes that combine to form the antenna. With the Askaryan Radio Array (ARA) experiment as a baseline, we use EAs to improve upon an antenna design for in-ice neutrino detectors, optimizing for its effective volume. We present results showcasing an 11% increase in simulated sensitivity to UHE neutrinos compared to the ARA design. Future work will continue to increase the complexity of antenna designs and optimize the algorithmic efficiency.

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Publication: Julie Rolla, Bryan Reynolds, Jacob Weiler, Dylan Wells, Max Foreback, Amy Connolly, Emily Dolson, Charles Ofria. Designing Optimized Antennas for Science Applications Using Evolutionary Algorithms. The Interplanetary Network Progress Report, Volume 42-242, pp. 1-29, August 15, 2025.

Presenters

  • Christina Shao

    • Ohio State University

Authors

  • Christina Shao

    • Ohio State University

  • Wolfgang Banzhaf

    • Michigan State University

  • Amy Connolly

    • Ohio State University

  • Emily Dolson

    • Michigan State University

  • Max Foreback

    • Michigan State University

  • Aman Hafez

    • Ohio State University

  • Evan Imata

    • The Ohio State University

  • Ezio Melotti

    • Ohio State University

  • Charles Ofria

    • Michigan State University

  • Anselmo Pontes

    • Autogenetics Research Lab

  • Vincent Ragusa

    • Michigan State University

  • Rajiv Ramnath

    • Ohio State University

  • Bryan Reynolds

    • Ohio State University, Remcom

  • Katherine Skocelas

    • Michigan State University

  • Jonathan Sy

    • The Ohio State University

  • Jacob Weiler

    • Ohio State University

  • Dylan Wells

    • Ohio State University, University of Pittsburgh

  • Julie Rolla

    • NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory