A muon-track reconstruction exploiting stochastic losses for large-scale Cherenkov detectors

IceCube is a cubic-kilometer Cherenkov telescope operating at the South Pole. The main goal of IceCube is the detection of astrophysical neutrinos and the identification of their sources. High-energy muon neutrinos are observed via the secondary muons produced in charge current interactions with nuclei in the ice. Currently, the best performing muon track directional reconstruction is based on a maximum likelihood method using the arrival time distribution of Cherenkov photons registered by the experiment\u27s photomultipliers. A known systematic shortcoming of the prevailing method is to assume a continuous energy loss along the muon track. However at energies >1 TeV the light yield from muons is dominated by stochastic showers. This paper discusses a generalized ansatz where the expected arrival time distribution is parametrized by a stochastic muon energy loss pattern. This more realistic parametrization of the loss profile leads to an improvement of the muon angular resolution of up to 20% for through-going tracks and up to a factor 2 for starting tracks over existing algorithms. Additionally, the procedure to estimate the directional reconstruction uncertainty has been improved to be more robust against numerical errors

New Flux Limits in the Low Relativistic Regime for Magnetic Monopoles at IceCube

Magnetic monopoles are hypothetical particles that carry magnetic charge. Depending on their velocity, different light production mechanisms exist to facilitate detection. In this work, a previously unused light production mechanism, luminescence of ice, is introduced. This light production mechanism is nearly independent of the velocity of the incident magnetic monopole and becomes the only viable light production mechanism in the low relativistic regime (0.1-0.55c). An analysis in the low relativistic regime searching for magnetic monopoles in seven years of IceCube data is presented. While no magnetic monopole detection can be claimed, a new flux limit in the low relativistic regime is presented, superseding the previous best flux limit by 2 orders of magnitude

Combining Maximum-Likelihood with Deep Learning for Event Reconstruction in IceCube

The field of deep learning has become increasingly important for particle physics experiments, yielding a multitude of advances, predominantly in event classification and reconstruction tasks. Many of these applications have been adopted from other domains. However, data in the field of physics are unique in the context of machine learning, insofar as their generation process and the laws and symmetries they abide by are usually well understood. Most commonly used deep learning architectures fail at utilizing this available information. In contrast, more traditional likelihood-based methods are capable of exploiting domain knowledge, but they are often limited by computational complexity. In this contribution, a hybrid approach is presented that utilizes generative neural networks to approximate the likelihood, which may then be used in a traditional maximum-likelihood setting. Domain knowledge, such as invariances and detector characteristics, can easily be incorporated in this approach. The hybrid approach is illustrated by the example of event reconstruction in IceCube

A Search for Neutrinos from Decaying Dark Matter in Galaxy Clusters and Galaxies with IceCube

The observed dark matter abundance in the Universe can be explained with non-thermal, heavy dark matter models. In order for dark matter to still be present today, its lifetime has to far exceed the age of the Universe. In these scenarios, dark matter decay can produce highly energetic neutrinos, along with other Standard Model particles. To date, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory is the world’s largest neutrino telescope, located at the geographic South Pole. In 2013, the IceCube collaboration reported the first observation of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos. Since then, IceCube has collected a large amount of astrophysical neutrino data with energies up to tens of PeV, allowing us to probe the heavy dark matter models using neutrinos. We search the IceCube data for neutrinos from decaying dark matter in galaxy clusters and galaxies. The targeted dark matter masses range from 10 TeV to 10 PeV. In this contribution, we present the method and sensitivities of the analysis

Performance of the D-Egg Optical Sensor for the IceCube Upgrade

New optical sensors called the "D-Egg" have been developed for cost-effective instrumentation for the IceCube Upgrade. With two 8-inch high QE photomultipliers, they offer increased effective photocathode area while retaining as much of the successful IceCube Digital Optical Module (DOM) design as possible. Mass production of D-Eggs has started in 2020. By the end of 2021, there will be 310 D-Eggs produced with 288 deployed in the IceCube Upgrade. The D-Egg readout system uses advanced technologies in electronics and computing power. Each of the two PMT signals is digitized using ultra-low-power 14-bit ADCs with a sampling frequency of 250-MSPS, enabling seamless and lossless event recording from single-photon signals to signals exceeding 200pe within 10ns, as well as flexible event triggering. In this paper, we report the single photon detection performance as well as the multiple photon recording capability of D-Eggs from the mass production line which have been evaluated with the built-in DAQ system

Design, performance, and analysis of a measurement of optical properties of antarctic ice below 400 nm

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory, located at the geographic South Pole, is the world\u27s largest neutrino telescope, instrumenting 1 km$^3$ of Antarctic ice with 5160 photosensors to detect Cherenkov light. For the IceCube Upgrade, to be deployed during the 2022-23 polar field season, and the enlarged detector IceCube-Gen2 several new optical sensor designs are under development. One of these optical sensors, the Wavelength-shifting Optical Module (WOM), uses wavelength-shifting and light-guiding techniques to measure Cherenkov photons in the UV range from 250 nm to 380 nm. In order to understand the potential gains from this new technology, a measurement of the scattering and absorption lengths of UV light was performed in the SPICEcore borehole at the South Pole during the winter seasons of 2018/2019 and 2019/2020. For this purpose, a calibration device with a UV light source and a detector using the wavelength shifting technology was developed. We present the design of the developed calibration device, its performance during the measurement campaigns, and the comparison of data to a Monte Carlo simulation

Testing Hadronic Interaction Models with Cosmic Ray Measurements at the IceCube Neutrino Observatory

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory provides the opportunity to perform unique measurements of cosmic-ray air showers with its combination of a surface array and a deep detector. Electromagnetic particles and low-energy muons (∼GeV) are detected by IceTop, while a bundle of high-energy muons (>~400 GeV) can be measured in coincidence in IceCube. Predictions of air-shower observables based on simulations show a strong dependence on the choice of the high-energy hadronic interaction model. By reconstructing different composition-dependent observables, one can provide strong tests of hadronic interaction models, as these measurements should be consistent with one another. In this work, we present an analysis of air-shower data between 2.5 and 80 PeV, comparing the composition interpretation of measurements of the surface muon density, the slope of the IceTop lateral distribution function, and the energy loss of the muon bundle, using the models Sibyll 2.1, QGSJet-II.04 and EPOS-LHC. We observe inconsistencies in all models under consideration, suggesting they do not give an adequate description of experimental data. The results furthermore imply a significant uncertainty in the determination of the cosmic-ray mass composition through indirect measurements

Density of GeV Muons Measured with IceTop

We present a measurement of the density of GeV muons in near-vertical air showers using three years of data recorded by the IceTop array at the South Pole. We derive the muon densities as functions of energy at reference distances of 600 m and 800 m for primary energies between 2.5 PeV and 40 PeV and between 9 PeV and 120 PeV, respectively, at an atmospheric depth of about 690g/cm$^2$. The measurements are consistent with the predicted muon densities obtained from Sibyll 2.1 assuming any physically reasonable cosmic ray flux model. However, comparison to the post-LHC models QGSJet-II.04 and EPOS-LHC shows that the post-LHC models yield a higher muon density than predicted by Sibyll 2.1 and are in tension with the experimental data for air shower energies between 2.5 PeV and 120 PeV

Design, performance, and analysis of a measurement of optical properties of antarctic ice below 400 nm

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory, located at the geographic South Pole, is the world\u27s largest neutrino telescope, instrumenting 1 km$^3$ of Antarctic ice with 5160 photosensors to detect Cherenkov light. For the IceCube Upgrade, to be deployed during the 2022-23 polar field season, and the enlarged detector IceCube-Gen2 several new optical sensor designs are under development. One of these optical sensors, the Wavelength-shifting Optical Module (WOM), uses wavelength-shifting and light-guiding techniques to measure Cherenkov photons in the UV range from 250 nm to 380 nm. In order to understand the potential gains from this new technology, a measurement of the scattering and absorption lengths of UV light was performed in the SPICEcore borehole at the South Pole during the winter seasons of 2018/2019 and 2019/2020. For this purpose, a calibration device with a UV light source and a detector using the wavelength shifting technology was developed. We present the design of the developed calibration device, its performance during the measurement campaigns, and the comparison of data to a Monte Carlo simulation

Indirect search for dark matter in the Galactic Centre with IceCube

Even though there are strong astrophysical and cosmological indications to support the existence of dark matter, its exact nature remains unknown. We expect dark matter to produce standard model particles when annihilating or decaying, assuming that it is composed of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs). These standard model particles could in turn yield neutrinos that can be detected by the IceCube neutrino telescope. The Milky Way is expected to be permeated by a dark matter halo with an increased density towards its centre. This halo is expected to yield the strongest dark matter annihilation signal at Earth coming from any celestial object, making it an ideal target for indirect searches. In this contribution, we present the sensitivities of an indirect search for dark matter in the Galactic Centre using IceCube data. This low energy dark matter search allows us to cover dark matter masses ranging from 5 GeV to 1 TeV. The sensitivities obtained for this analysis show considerable improvements over previous IceCube results in the considered energy range