Impairments on the Construction of a Cosmic Neutrino Detector in a Romanian Salt Mine

ABSTRACT Indirect cosmic neutrino detectors utilize dense media to enhance the likelihood of neutrino interactions within the detection volume. Salt domes have been considered a potential candidate for such a detector, and this work investigates the feasibility of constructing such a radio detector in Romania. Measurements have revealed that despite theoretical predictions suggesting large attenuation lengths for diapirs, the actual ones are very small (smaller than the dimension of the shower of particles in salt), enhanced by the sedimental heterogeneity in the salt deposit. Another impairment is that the functionality of the main detecting instrument (i.e., the antenna) is highly affected by the environment, and propagation effects cannot be entirely excluded during postprocessing of measurement data to produce stand‐alone characterizations. All these directly impact the reconstruction of events. Summary The study highlights how geological heterogeneity in salt domes directly affects the propagation of radio waves, linking geophysical characteristics to the performance of cosmic neutrino detectors. The performance of borehole antennas is strongly influenced by local environmental conditions, emphasizing the interplay between electromagnetic theory, antenna engineering, and high‐energy particle detection. Variations in salt composition, impurities, and structural deformation illustrate the critical role of material properties in reconstructing neutrino‐induced particle showers, bridging mineralogy and neutrino astronomy.