33RD INTERNATIONAL COSMIC RAY CONFERENCE, RIO DE JANEIRO 2013 THE ASTROPARTICLE PHYSICS CONFERENCE Performance of the ARIANNA Prototype Array

Abstract: We describe the physics goals and detector capabilities of the the ARIANNA High Energy Neutrino Telescope, utilizing the unique geophysical features of the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. ARIANNA relies on the radio Cherenkov technique and designed to improved the sensitivity to neutrinos with energies in excess of 1017 eV by at least a factor of 10 relative to current limits. The primary goal is focused on a measurement of the cosmological neutrino flux, whose existence is relatively secure but also expected to be quite small even under the best of circumstances. We report on recent results from the construction and operation of the first three stations of the Hexagonal Radio Array, a pilot program for the ARIANNA project, that was approved by the US Nationa