A radio air shower detector as an extension for IceCube and IceTop Auffenberg, Jan; Besson, Dave; Gaisser, Tom ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
06/2009, Volume:
604, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The IceCube neutrino detector is being built into the Antarctic ice sheet at the South Pole to measure high energy neutrinos. For this, 4800 PMTs are being deployed at depths between 1450 and 2450
m ...into the ice to identify neutrino induced charged particles like muons. IceTop is a surface air shower detector consisting of 160 ice Cherenkov tanks located on top of IceCube. A radio air shower detector is designed to extend IceTop and increase significantly the sensitivity at higher shower energies and for inclined showers. Furthermore, composition studies would be improved with this three component detector comprising IceCube, IceTop and Radio. In this scenario IceCube detects the muonic component, IceTop the charged particles at the surface and radio measures the longitudinal development of the air shower. Furthermore, high energy air showers generate the muonic background for the extra high energy (EHE) neutrino detection in IceCube. For this, a radio extension of IceCube is not only an air shower detector, but also works as a veto to reduce this background. Radio background studies and simulations of the expected radio signals from air showers lead to an estimation of the radio detector efficiency. The requirements necessary for a veto detector are outlined in this work.
The origin of the highest energy Galactic cosmic rays is still not understood, nor is the transition to EeV extragalactic particles. Scientific progress requires enhancements of existing air-shower ...arrays, such as: IceCube with its surface detector IceTop, and the low-energy extensions of both the Telescope Array and the Pierre Auger Observatory.
Extensive air showers are detectable by radio signals with a radio surface detector. A promising theory of the dominant emission process is the coherent synchrotron radiation emitted by e+ e- shower ...particles in the Earth's magnetic field (geosynchrotron effect). A radio air shower detector can extend IceTop, the air shower detector on top of IceCube. This could increase the sensitivity of IceTop to higher shower energies and for inclined showers significantly. Muons from air showers are a major part of the background of the neutrino telescope IceCube. Thus a surface radio air shower detector could act as a veto detector for this muonic background. Initial radio background measurements with a single antenna in 2007 revealed a continuous electromagnetic background promising a low energy threshold of radio air shower detection. However, short pulsed radio interferences can mimic real signals and have to be identified in the frequency range of interest. These properties of the electromagnetic background was being measured at the South Pole during the Antarctic winter 2009 with two different types of surface antennas. In total four antennas are placed at distances ranging up to 400m from each other. In 2010 a small eight channel surface detector will test an amplitude threshold self trigger strategy with large dipole antennas on the South Pole snow ground. The installation will be described.
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