IceCube: An Instrument for Neutrino Astronomy

Journal Article · Fri Jun 04 04:00:00 EDT 2010 · Physidal Review Letters

OSTI ID:985941

Halzen, F; Klein, S

Neutrino astronomy beyond the Sun was first imagined in the late 1950s; by the 1970s, it was realized that kilometer-scale neutrino detectors were required. The first such instrument, IceCube, is near completion and taking data. The IceCube project transforms a cubic kilometer of deep and ultra-transparent Antarctic ice into a particle detector. A total of 5,160 optical sensors are embedded into a gigaton of Antarctic ice to detect the Cherenkov light emitted by secondary particles produced when neutrinos interact with nuclei in the ice. Each optical sensor is a complete data acquisition system, including a phototube, digitization electronics, control and trigger systems and LEDs for calibration. The light patterns reveal the type (flavor) of neutrino interaction and the energy and direction of the neutrino, making neutrino astronomy possible. The scientific missions of IceCube include such varied tasks as the search for sources of cosmic rays, the observation of Galactic supernova explosions, the search for dark matter, and the study of the neutrinos themselves. These reach energies well beyond those produced with accelerator beams.

• Research Organization: Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: Nuclear Science Division
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-05CH11231
• OSTI ID: 985941
• Report Number(s): LBNL-3751E
• Journal Information: Physidal Review Letters, Journal Name: Physidal Review Letters; ISSN 0031-9007; ISSN PRLTAO
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
ACCELERATORS
ASTRONOMY
CALIBRATION
DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEMS
EXPLOSIONS
NEUTRINO DETECTION
NEUTRINOS
NONLUMINOUS MATTER
NUCLEI
SUN