| 51. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(författare)
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Search for Galactic PeV gamma rays with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory
- 2013
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Ingår i: Physical Review D. - 1550-7998 .- 1550-2368. ; 87:6, s. 062002-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Gamma-ray induced air showers are notable for their lack of muons, compared to hadronic showers. Hence, air shower arrays with large underground muon detectors can select a sample greatly enriched in photon showers by rejecting showers containing muons. IceCube is sensitive to muons with energies above similar to 500 GeV at the surface, which provides an efficient veto system for hadronic air showers with energies above 1 PeV. One year of data from the 40-string IceCube configuration was used to perform a search for point sources and a Galactic diffuse signal. No sources were found, resulting in a 90% C.L. upper limit on the ratio of gamma rays to cosmic rays of 1.2 x 10(-3) for the flux coming from the Galactic plane region (-80 degrees less than or similar to l less than or similar to -30 degrees; -10 degrees less than or similar to b less than or similar to 5 degrees) in the energy range 1.2-6.0 PeV. In the same energy range, point source fluxes with E-2 spectra have been excluded at a level of (E/TeV)(2)d Phi/dE similar to 10(-12)-10(-11) cm(-2) s(-1) TeV-1 depending on source declination. The complete IceCube detector will have a better sensitivity (due to the larger detector size), improved reconstruction, and vetoing techniques. Preliminary data from the nearly final IceCube detector configuration have been used to estimate the 5-yr sensitivity of the full detector. It is found to be more than an order of magnitude better, allowing the search for PeV extensions of known TeV gamma-ray emitters.
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| 52. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(författare)
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SEARCH FOR TIME-INDEPENDENT NEUTRINO EMISSION FROM ASTROPHYSICAL SOURCES WITH 3 yr OF IceCube DATASearch for time-independent neutrino emission from astrophysical sources with 3 yr of icecube data
- 2013
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 779:2, s. 132-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the results of a search for neutrino point sources using the IceCube data collected between 2008 April and 2011 May with three partially completed configurations of the detector: the 40-, 59-, and 79-string configurations. The live-time of this data set is 1040 days. An unbinned maximum likelihood ratio test was used to search for an excess of neutrinos above the atmospheric background at any given direction in the sky. By adding two more years of data with improved event selection and reconstruction techniques, the sensitivity was improved by a factor of 3.5 or more with respect to the previously published results obtained with the 40-string configuration of IceCube. We performed an all-sky survey and a dedicated search using a catalog of a priori selected objects observed by other telescopes. In both searches, the data are compatible with the background-only hypothesis. In the absence of evidence for a signal, we set upper limits on the flux of muon neutrinos. For an E-2 neutrino spectrum, the observed limits are (0.9-5) x 10(-12) TeV-1 cm(-2) s(-1) for energies between 1 TeV and 1 PeV in the northern sky and (0.9-23.2) x 10(-12) TeV-1 cm(-2) s(-1) for energies between 10(2) TeV and 10(2) PeV in the southern sky. We also report upper limits for neutrino emission from groups of sources that were selected according to theoretical models or observational parameters and analyzed with a stacking approach. Some of the limits presented already reach the level necessary to quantitatively test current models of neutrino emission.
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| 53. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(författare)
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South Pole glacial climate reconstruction from multi-borehole laser particulate stratigraphy
- 2013
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Ingår i: Journal of Glaciology. - 0022-1430 .- 1727-5652. ; 59:218, s. 1117-1128
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The IceCube Neutrino Observatory and its prototype, AMANDA, were built in South Pole ice, using powerful hot-water drills to cleanly bore >100 holes to depths up to 2500 m. The construction of these particle physics detectors provided a unique opportunity to examine the deep ice sheet using a variety of novel techniques. We made high-resolution particulate profiles with a laser dust logger in eight of the boreholes during detector commissioning between 2004 and 2010. The South Pole laser logs are among the most clearly resolved measurements of Antarctic dust strata during the last glacial period and can be used to reconstruct paleoclimate records in exceptional detail. Here we use manual and algorithmic matching to synthesize our South Pole measurements with ice-core and logging data from Dome C, East Antarctica. We derive impurity concentration, precision chronology, annual-layer thickness, local spatial variability, and identify several widespread volcanic ash depositions useful for dating. We also examine the interval around similar to 74 ka recently isolated with radiometric dating to bracket the Toba (Sumatra) supereruption.
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| 54. |
- Abbasi, R., et al.
(författare)
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An improved method for measuring muon energy using the truncated mean of dE/dx
- 2013
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Ingår i: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A. - : Elsevier BV. - 0168-9002 .- 1872-9576. ; 703, s. 190-198
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The measurement of muon energy is critical for many analyses in large Cherenkov detectors, particularly those that involve separating extraterrestrial neutrinos from the atmospheric neutrino background. Muon energy has traditionally been determined by measuring the specific energy loss (dE/dx) along the muon's path and relating the dE/dx to the muon energy. Because high-energy muons (Eμ>1TeV) lose energy randomly, the spread in dE/dx values is quite large, leading to a typical energy resolution of 0.29 in log10(Eμ) for a muon observed over a 1 km path length in the IceCube detector. In this paper, we present an improved method that uses a truncated mean and other techniques to determine the muon energy. The muon track is divided into separate segments with individual dE/dx values. The elimination of segments with the highest dE/dx results in an overall dE/dx that is more closely correlated to the muon energy. This method results in an energy resolution of 0.22 in log10(Eμ), which gives a 26% improvement. This technique is applicable to any large water or ice detector and potentially to large scintillator or liquid argon detectors.
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| 55. |
- Abbasi, R., et al.
(författare)
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Calibration and characterization of the IceCube photomultiplier tube
- 2010
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Ingår i: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A. - : Elsevier BV. - 0168-9002 .- 1872-9576. ; 618:1-3, s. 139-152
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Over 5000 PMTs are being deployed at the South Pole to compose the IceCube neutrino observatory. Many are placed deep in the ice to detect Cherenkov light emitted by the products of high-energy neutrino interactions, and others are frozen into tanks on the surface to detect particles from atmospheric cosmic ray showers. IceCube is using the 10-in. diameter R7081-02 made by Hamamatsu Photonics. This paper describes the laboratory characterization and calibration of these PMTs before deployment. PMTs were illuminated with pulses ranging from single photons to saturation level. Parameterizations are given for the single photoelectron charge spectrum and the saturation behavior. Time resolution, late pulses and afterpulses are characterized. Because the PMTs are relatively large, the cathode sensitivity uniformity was measured. The absolute photon detection efficiency was calibrated using Rayleigh-scattered photons from a nitrogen laser. Measured characteristics are discussed in the context of their relevance to IceCube event reconstruction and simulation efforts. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 56. |
- Abbasi, R., et al.
(författare)
-
Cosmic ray composition and energy spectrum from 1-30 PeV using the 40-string configuration of IceTop and IceCube
- 2013
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Ingår i: Astroparticle physics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0927-6505 .- 1873-2852. ; 42, s. 15-32
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The mass composition of high energy cosmic rays depends on their production, acceleration, and propagation. The study of cosmic ray composition can therefore reveal hints of the origin of these particles. At the South Pole, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory is capable of measuring two components of cosmic ray air showers in coincidence: the electromagnetic component at high altitude (2835 m) using the IceTop surface array, and the muonic component above ∼1 TeV using the IceCube array. This unique detector arrangement provides an opportunity for precision measurements of the cosmic ray energy spectrum and composition in the region of the knee and beyond. We present the results of a neural network analysis technique to study the cosmic ray composition and the energy spectrum from 1 PeV to 30 PeV using data recorded using the 40-string/40-station configuration of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory.
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| 57. |
- Abbasi, R., et al.
(författare)
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First search for extremely high energy cosmogenic neutrinos with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory
- 2010
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Ingår i: Physical review. D, Particles, fields, gravitation, and cosmology. - 1550-7998. ; 82:7, s. 072003-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on the results of the search for extremely-high energy neutrinos with energies above 10(7) GeV obtained with the partially (similar to 30%) constructed IceCube in 2007. From the absence of signal events in the sample of 242.1 days of effective live time, we derive a 90% C.L. model independent differential upper limit based on the number of signal events per energy decade at E-2 phi(ve+v mu+v tau) similar or equal to 1.4 x 10(-6) GeV cm(-2) sec(-1) sr(-1) for neutrinos in the energy range from 3 x 10(7) to 3 x 10(9) GeV.
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| 58. |
- Abbasi, R., et al.
(författare)
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IceTop : The surface component of IceCube
- 2013
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Ingår i: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A. - : Elsevier BV. - 0168-9002 .- 1872-9576. ; 700, s. 188-220
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- IceTop, the surface component of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole, is an air shower array with an area of 1 km(2). The detector allows a detailed exploration of the mass composition of primary cosmic rays in the energy range from about 100 TeV to 1 EeV by exploiting the correlation between the shower energy measured in IceTop and the energy deposited by muons in the deep ice. In this paper we report on the technical design, construction and installation, the trigger and data acquisition systems as well as the software framework for calibration, reconstruction and simulation. Finally the first experience from commissioning and operating the detector and the performance as an air shower detector will be discussed.
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| 59. |
- Abbasi, R., et al.
(författare)
-
Lateral distribution of muons in IceCube cosmic ray events
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Physical Review D. - 1550-7998 .- 1550-2368. ; 87:1, s. 012005-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In cosmic ray air showers, the muon lateral separation from the center of the shower is a measure of the transverse momentum that the muon parent acquired in the cosmic ray interaction. IceCube has observed cosmic ray interactions that produce muons laterally separated by up to 400 m from the shower core, a factor of 6 larger distance than previous measurements. These muons originate in high p(T) (> 2 GeV/c) interactions from the incident cosmic ray, or high-energy secondary interactions. The separation distribution shows a transition to a power law at large values, indicating the presence of a hard p(T) component that can be described by perturbative quantum chromodynamics. However, the rates and the zenith angle distributions of these events are not well reproduced with the cosmic ray models tested here, even those that include charm interactions. This discrepancy may be explained by a larger fraction of kaons and charmed particles than is currently incorporated in the simulations. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.87.012005
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| 60. |
- Abbasi, R., et al.
(författare)
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Measurement of the anisotropy of cosmic-ray arrival directions with icecube
- 2010
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Ingår i: The Astrophysical Journal Letters. - 2041-8205. ; 718, s. L194-L198
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report the first observation of an anisotropy in the arrival direction of cosmic rays with energies in the multi-TeV region in the Southern sky using data from the IceCube detector. Between 2007 June and 2008 March, the partially deployed IceCube detector was operated in a configuration with 1320 digital optical sensors distributed over 22 strings at depths between 1450 and 2450 m inside the Antarctic ice. IceCube is a neutrino detector, but the data are dominated by a large background of cosmic-ray muons. Therefore, the background data are suitable for high-statistics studies of cosmic rays in the southern sky. The data include 4.3 billion muons produced by downward-going cosmic-ray interactions in the atmosphere; these events were reconstructed with a median angular resolution of 3 degrees and a median energy of similar to 20 TeV. Their arrival direction distribution exhibits an anisotropy in right ascension with a first-harmonic amplitude of (6.4 +/- 0.2 stat. +/- 0.8 syst.) x 10(-4).
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