Direct Neutrino Communication Through the Earth: NuMI-Calibrated Simulation and Far-Field Sensitivity

Abstract

Neutrinos can pass through substantial matter, potentially enabling direct links where electromagnetic paths are obstructed, but their weak interactions make reception difficult. We present two separate calculations. First, a repeated OOK/CRC simulation calibrated to the published NuMI-MINERvA selected-event mean correctly accepts 65.7% of simulated packets with a 40-bit payload and an eight-bit CRC after five repetitions, with about 587 s mean latency under assumed external synchronization. Varying the input mean across its approximate Poisson counting interval gives 60-72% correct acceptance; this is a sensitivity range, not a joint confidence interval. Second, a distinct idealized far-field model gives 24.4 MW peak neutrino-carried on-slot power for a 10 kt receiver at 5,000 km, conditional on 3 GeV neutrinos, 1 mrad divergence, 50% selection efficiency, unit flavor survival, zero background and one-second slots. Neither result establishes a practical long-baseline source or measured CRC performance.