POEMMA-Balloon with Radio: A multi-messenger, multi-detector balloon payload

J Adams; J Alfaro; D Allard; P Alldredge; R Aloisio; R Ammendola; A Anastasio; L Anchordoqui; D Badoni; J Baláž; B Baret; L Bar-On; M Battisti; R Bellotti; M Bertaina; M Betts; S Blin; M Boezio; P Bořil; J Brague; I Buckland; J Burton-Heibges; F.S Cafagna; P Cao; J Caraca; R Caruso; M Casolino; K Černý; N Cordrey; A Creusot; A Cummings; P Degarate; C De Santis; A Di Giovanni; B.J DiLella; A Di Salvo; J Eser; S Ferrarese; G Filippatos; W Finch; J d; C naro; A Fox-Smith; A Froid; P Gálvez Molina; S Garbolino; D Garg; B Gockel; C Guepin; A Haungs; T Heibges; J Hicks; J Hinkel; J Krizmanic; L Kupari; E.H Lenzing; F Liberatori; S Mackovjak; D Mandát; M Manfrin; A Marcelli; L Marcelli; G Masciantonio; V Masone; E Mayotte; E Mentzell; A Meli; M Mese; S Meyer; M Mignone; M Miller; M Mongelli; J Moses; E Msihid; R Munini; M Murdock; A Novikov; S O'Brien; A.V Olinto; Y Onel; G Osteria; B Panico; E Parizot; G Passeggio; T Paul; M Pech; K Penalo Castillo; F Perfetto; C Petta; P Picozza; L Piotrowski; Z Plebaniak; H Qureshi; E Reali; M.H Reno; M Ricci; E Ricci; A Rivetti; A Roy; F Sarazin; V Scherini; P Schovánek; F.G Schroeder; V Scotti; C Shay; A Sotgiu; R Sparvoli; B Stillwell; I Strhárský; J Szabelski; Y Takizawa; R Torres; R Triggiani; C Trimarelli; C Tussey; J Tutt; M Unger; T Venters; M Venugopal; P von Ballmoos; L Wanner; D Washington; R Webb; A Weindl; L Wiencke; S Wissel; A Yuan; JEM-EUSO Collaboration; PBR team

doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2026/07/001

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POEMMA-Balloon with Radio: A multi-messenger, multi-detector balloon payload

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

POEMMA-Balloon with Radio: A multi-messenger, multi-detector balloon payload

J Adams, J Alfaro, D Allard, P Alldredge, R Aloisio, R Ammendola, A Anastasio, L Anchordoqui, D Badoni, J Baláž, …

Journal of cosmology and astroparticle physics, Vol.2026(7), 001

07/01/2026

DOI: 10.1088/1475-7516/2026/07/001

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Abstract

A review of the current status of the field of Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Ray (UHECR) including a summary of remaining open questions was presented in the white paper “Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays: at the Intersection of the Cosmic and Energy Frontiers” (Astropart. Phys. 147 (2023) 102794; 2205.05845). The authors concluded that two types of next-generation detectors are needed to answer these questions: high-accuracy instruments and detectors that maximize exposure at the highest energies. The Probe Of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics (POEMMA), a proposed dual-satellite observatory, exemplifies the latter class and is designed to increase statistics of the highest-energy cosmic rays and to detect very-high-energy neutrinos following multi-messenger alerts. POEMMA-Balloon with Radio (PBR) implements a compact, balloon-borne version of the POEMMA concept, adapted for a Super-Pressure Balloon flight from Wanaka, New Zealand, with an expected campaign exceeding 20 days. PBR couples a wide field-of-view Schmidt telescope and a hybrid optical focal surface with a dedicated radio instrument to deliver simultaneous, complementary measurements of extensive air showers. The mission will validate the fluorescence detection strategy from space and raise technology readiness for a POEMMA-like space mission by observing UHECR-induced fluorescence light from suborbital altitudes, obtaining the first simultaneous optical Cherenkov and radio observations of high-altitude horizontal air showers above the cosmic-ray knee (E > 3 PeV), enabling energy-spectrum and composition studies at the PeV scale, and performing follow-ups of multi-messenger alerts to search for very-high-energy neutrinos via upward-going air showers. This paper summarizes the PBR payload and its expected performance.

Fluorescence

Balloon flight

Cosmic ray showers

Cosmic rays

Detectors

Energy

Field of view

High altitude

High energy astronomy

Neutrinos

Radio observation

Satellite observation

Schmidt telescopes

Space missions

Superpressure balloons

Details

Title: Subtitle: POEMMA-Balloon with Radio: A multi-messenger, multi-detector balloon payload
Creators: J Adams - University of Alabama in Huntsville
J Alfaro - Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy
D Allard - Université Paris Cité
P Alldredge - University of Alabama in Huntsville
R Aloisio - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso
R Ammendola - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Roma Tor Vergata
A Anastasio - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Napoli
L Anchordoqui - Lehman College
D Badoni - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Roma Tor Vergata
J Baláž - Institute of Experimental Physics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences
B Baret - Université Paris Cité
L Bar-On - Colorado School of Mines
M Battisti - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Roma Tor Vergata
R Bellotti - University of Bari Aldo Moro
M Bertaina
M Betts - Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy
S Blin - Université Paris Cité
M Boezio - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste
P Bořil - Palacký University Olomouc
J Brague - Colorado School of Mines
I Buckland - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste
J Burton-Heibges - Colorado School of Mines
F.S Cafagna - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bari
P Cao - University of Alabama in Huntsville
J Caraca - Colorado School of Mines
R Caruso - University of Catania
M Casolino - University of Rome Tor Vergata
K Černý - Palacký University Olomouc
N Cordrey - Wallops Flight Facility
A Creusot - Université Paris Cité
A Cummings - Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy
P Degarate - Colorado School of Mines
C De Santis - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Roma Tor Vergata
A Di Giovanni - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso
B.J DiLella - Pennsylvania State University
A Di Salvo - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino
J Eser - Columbia University
S Ferrarese - University of Turin
G Filippatos - University of Chicago
W Finch - Colorado School of Mines
J d
C naro
A Fox-Smith - Colorado School of Mines
A Froid - Colorado School of Mines
P Gálvez Molina
S Garbolino - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino
D Garg - University of Iowa
B Gockel - Colorado School of Mines
C Guepin - Université de Montpellier
A Haungs - Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
T Heibges - Colorado School of Mines
J Hicks - University of Alabama in Huntsville
J Hinkel - Colorado School of Mines
J Krizmanic - Goddard Space Flight Center
L Kupari - University of Iowa
E.H Lenzing - Pennsylvania State University
F Liberatori - University of Rome Tor Vergata
S Mackovjak - Institute of Experimental Physics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences
D Mandát - Palacký University Olomouc
M Manfrin - University of Turin
A Marcelli - University of Rome Tor Vergata
L Marcelli - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Roma Tor Vergata
G Masciantonio - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Roma Tor Vergata
V Masone - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Napoli
E Mayotte - Colorado School of Mines
E Mentzell - Goddard Space Flight Center
A Meli - North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
M Mese - University of Naples Federico II
S Meyer - University of Chicago
M Mignone - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino
M Miller - University of Iowa
M Mongelli - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bari
J Moses - Colorado School of Mines
E Msihid - Université Paris Cité
R Munini - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste
M Murdock - University of Alabama in Huntsville
A Novikov - University of Delaware
S O'Brien
A.V Olinto - Columbia University
Y Onel - University of Iowa
G Osteria - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Napoli
B Panico - University of Naples Federico II
E Parizot - Université Paris Cité
G Passeggio - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Napoli
T Paul - Columbia University
M Pech - Palacký University Olomouc
K Penalo Castillo
F Perfetto - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Napoli
C Petta - University of Catania
P Picozza - University of Rome Tor Vergata
L Piotrowski - University of Warsaw
Z Plebaniak - University of Rome Tor Vergata
H Qureshi - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Napoli
E Reali
M.H Reno - University of Iowa
M Ricci - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati
E Ricci - University of Trento
A Rivetti - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino
A Roy - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso
F Sarazin - Colorado School of Mines
V Scherini - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Lecce
P Schovánek - Palacký University Olomouc
F.G Schroeder
V Scotti - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Napoli
C Shay - Colorado School of Mines
A Sotgiu - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Roma Tor Vergata
R Sparvoli - University of Rome Tor Vergata
B Stillwell - University of Chicago
I Strhárský - Slovak Academy of Sciences
J Szabelski - State Higher Vocational School in Skierniewice
Y Takizawa - RIKEN Center for Advanced Photonics
R Torres - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso
R Triggiani - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bari
C Trimarelli - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso
C Tussey - University of Alabama in Huntsville
J Tutt - Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy
M Unger - Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
T Venters - Goddard Space Flight Center
M Venugopal - Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
P von Ballmoos - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
L Wanner - Colorado School of Mines
D Washington - Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy
R Webb - Colorado School of Mines
A Weindl - Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
L Wiencke - Colorado School of Mines
S Wissel - Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy
A Yuan - Pennsylvania State University
JEM-EUSO Collaboration
PBR team
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Journal of cosmology and astroparticle physics, Vol.2026(7), 001
DOI: 10.1088/1475-7516/2026/07/001
ISSN: 1475-7516
eISSN: 1475-7516
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Grant note: NASA: 80NSSC22K1488, 80NSSC24K1780 NASA EPSCoR: 80NSSC22M0222 French space agency CNES Italian Space agency ASI OP JAC - ESIF MEYS: CZ.02.01.01/00/22_008/0004596 National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility: DE-AC02-05CH11231
The authors would like to acknowledge the support by NASA award 80NSSC22K1488 and 80NSSC24K1780, by NASA EPSCoR 80NSSC22M0222, by the French space agency CNES and the Italian Space agency ASI. The work is supported by OP JAC financed by ESIF and the MEYS CZ.02.01.01/00/22_008/0004596. We gratefully acknowledge the collaboration and expert advice provided by the PUEO collaboration. We acknowledge the NASA Balloon Program Office and the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility and staff for extensive support. We also acknowledge the invaluable contributions of the administrative and technical staffs at our home institutions. This research used resources of the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility operated under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231. The authors thank the company Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (MPS) in Ettenheim, Germany, in particular Mr. Jan Spindler, for the generous support with EMI measurements in their anechoic chamber.
Language: English
Date published: 07/01/2026
Academic Unit: Physics and Astronomy
Record Identifier: 9985179095302771

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