1. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(author)
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The IceCube Neutrino Observatory : instrumentation and online systems
- 2017
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In: Journal of Instrumentation. - : IOP PUBLISHING LTD. - 1748-0221. ; 12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is a cubic-kilometer-scale high-energy neutrino detector built into the ice at the South Pole. Construction of IceCube, the largest neutrino detector built to date, was completed in 2011 and enabled the discovery of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos. We describe here the design, production, and calibration of the IceCube digital optical module (DOM), the cable systems, computing hardware, and our methodology for drilling and deployment. We also describe the online triggering and data filtering systems that select candidate neutrino and cosmic ray events for analysis. Due to a rigorous pre-deployment protocol, 98.4% of the DOMs in the deep ice are operating and collecting data. IceCube routinely achieves a detector uptime of 99% by emphasizing software stability and monitoring. Detector operations have been stable since construction was completed, and the detector is expected to operate at least until the end of the next decade.
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2. |
- Achterberg, A., et al.
(author)
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The search for muon neutrinos from northern hemisphere gamma-ray bursts with AMANDA
- 2008
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 674:1, s. 357-370
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present the results of the analysis of neutrino observations by the Antarctic Muon and Neutrino Detector Array (AMANDA) correlated with photon observations of more than 400 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in the northern hemisphere from 1997 to 2003. During this time period, AMANDA's effective collection area for muon neutrinos was larger than that of any other existing detector. After the application of various selection criteria to our data, we expect similar to 1 neutrino event and <2 background events. Based on our observations of zero events during and immediately prior to the GRBs in the data set, we set the most stringent upper limit on muon neutrino emission correlated with GRBs. Assuming a Waxman-Bahcall spectrum and incorporating all systematic uncertainties, our flux upper limit has a normalization at 1 PeV of E-2 Phi(nu) <= 6.3 x 10(-9) GeV cm(-2) s(-1) sr(-1), with 90% of the events expected within the energy range of similar to 10 TeV to similar to 3 PeV. The impact of this limit on several theoretical models of GRBs is discussed, as well as the future potential for detection of GRBs by next-generation neutrino telescopes. Finally, we briefly describe several modifications to this analysis in order to apply it to other types of transient point sources.
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3. |
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4. |
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5. |
- Achterberg, A., et al.
(author)
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Detection of atmospheric muon neutrinos with the IceCube 9-string detector
- 2007
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In: Physical Review D - Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology. - 1550-7998. ; 76:2, s. 027101-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The IceCube neutrino detector is a cubic kilometer TeV to PeV neutrino detector under construction at the geographic South Pole. The dominant population of neutrinos detected in IceCube is due to meson decay in cosmic-ray air showers. These atmospheric neutrinos are relatively well understood and serve as a calibration and verification tool for the new detector. In 2006, the detector was approximately 10% completed, and we report on data acquired from the detector in this configuration. We observe an atmospheric neutrino signal consistent with expectations, demonstrating that the IceCube detector is capable of identifying neutrino events. In the first 137.4 days of live time, 234 neutrino candidates were selected with an expectation of 211 +/- 76.1(syst)+/- 14.5(stat) events from atmospheric neutrinos.
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6. |
- Achterberg, A., et al.
(author)
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Multiyear search for a diffuse flux of muon neutrinos with AMANDA-II
- 2007
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In: Physical Review D - Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology. - 1550-7998. ; 76:4, s. 042008-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A search for TeV-PeV muon neutrinos from unresolved sources was performed on AMANDA-II data collected between 2000 and 2003 with an equivalent live time of 807 days. This diffuse analysis sought to find an extraterrestrial neutrino flux from sources with nonthermal components. The signal is expected to have a harder spectrum than the atmospheric muon and neutrino backgrounds. Since no excess of events was seen in the data over the expected background, an upper limit of E-2 Phi(90%C.L.)< 7.4x10(-8) GeV cm(-2) s(-1) sr(-1) is placed on the diffuse flux of muon neutrinos with a Phi proportional to E-2 spectrum in the energy range 16 TeV to 2.5 PeV. This is currently the most sensitive Phi proportional to E-2 diffuse astrophysical neutrino limit. We also set upper limits for astrophysical and prompt neutrino models, all of which have spectra different from Phi proportional to E-2.
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7. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(author)
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Search for ultra-high-energy neutrinos with amanda-II
- 2008
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 675:2, s. 1014-1024
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A search for diffuse neutrinos with energies in excess of 10(5) GeV is conducted with AMANDA-II data recorded between 2000 and 2002. Above 10(7) GeV, the Earth is essentially opaque to neutrinos. This fact, combined with the limited overburden of the AMANDA-II detector ( roughly 1.5 km), concentrates these ultra-high-energy neutrinos at the horizon. The primary background for this analysis is bundles of downgoing, high-energy muons from the interaction of cosmic rays in the atmosphere. No statistically significant excess above the expected background is seen in the data, and an upper limit is set on the diffuse all-flavor neutrino flux of E-2 Phi(90%CL) < 2.7x10(-7) GeV cm(-2) s(-1) sr(-1) valid over the energy range of 2x10(5) to 10(9) GeV. A number of models that predict neutrino fluxes from active galactic nuclei are excluded at the 90% confidence level.
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8. |
- Ahrens, J., et al.
(author)
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Calibration and survey of AMANDA with the SPASE detectors
- 2004
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In: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A. - : Elsevier. - 0168-9002 .- 1872-9576. ; 522:3, s. 347-359
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report on the analysis of air showers observed in coincidence by the Antarctic Muon and Neutrino detector array (AMANDA-B10) and the South Pole Air Shower Experiment (SPASE-1 and SPASE-2). We discuss the use of coincident events for calibration and survey of the deep AMANDA detector as well as the response of AMANDA to muon bundles. This analysis uses data taken during 1997 when both SPASE-1 and SPASE-2 were in operation to provide a stereo view of AMANDA. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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9. |
- Ahrens, J., et al.
(author)
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Measurement of the cosmic ray composition at the knee with the SPASE-2/AMANDA-B10 detectors
- 2004
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In: Astroparticle physics. - : Elsevier. - 0927-6505 .- 1873-2852. ; 21:6, s. 565-581
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The mass composition of high-energy cosmic rays at energies above 1015 eV can provide crucial information for the understanding of their origin. Air showers were measured simultaneously with the SPASE-2 air shower array and the AMANDA-B10 Cherenkov telescope at the South Pole. This combination has the advantage to sample almost all high-energy shower muons and is thus a new approach to the determination of the cosmic ray composition. The change in the cosmic ray mass composition was measured versus existing data from direct measurements at low energies. Our data show an increase of the mean log atomic mass 〈lnA〉 by about 0.8 between 500 TeV and 5 PeV. This trend of an increasing mass through the "knee" region is robust against a variety of systematic effects. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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10. |
- Andres, E., et al.
(author)
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Selected recent results from AMANDA
- 2001
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In: ICHEP 2000. Proceedings of the 30th International Conference on High Energy Physics. - : World Scientific. ; , s. 965-968
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present a selection of results based on data taken in 1997 with the 302-PMT Antarctic Muon and Neutrino Detector Array-B10 ("AMANDA-B10") array. Atmospheric neutrinos created in the northern hemisphere are observed indirectly through their charged current interactions which produce relativistic, Cherenkov-light-emitting upgoing muons in the South Pole ice cap. The reconstructed angular distribution of these events is in good agreement with expectation and demonstrates the viability of this ice-based device as a neutrino telescope. Studies of nearly vertical upgoing muons limit the available parameter space for WIMP dark matter under the assumption that WIMPS are trapped in the earth's gravitational potential well and annihilate with one another near the earth's center.
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11. |
- Ahrens, J., et al.
(author)
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Search for Extraterrestrial Point Sources of Neutrinos with AMANDA-II
- 2004
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In: Physical Review Letters. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 92:7, s. 711021-711025
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The results of a search for point sources of high energy neutrinos in the northern hemisphere were presented using AMANDA-II data collected in the year 2000. The results included the flux limits on several active-galactic-nuclei blazars, microquasars, magnetars, and other candidate neutrino sources. A search for excesses above a random background of cosmic ray induced atmospheric neutrinos and misreconstructed downgoing cosmic-rays muons, which revealed no statistically significant neutrino point sources was also presented. It was shown that AMANDA-II had achieved the sensitivity required to probe known TeV γ-ray sources such as the blazar Markarian 501 in its 1997 flaring state at a level where neutrino and γ-ray fluxes were equal.
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12. |
- Andrés, E., et al.
(author)
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Observation of high-energy neutrinos using Čerenkov detectors embedded deep in Antarctic ice
- 2001
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 410:6827, s. 441-443
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Neutrinos are elementary particles that carry no electric charge and have little mass. As they interact only weakly with other particles, they can penetrate enormous amounts of matter, and therefore have the potential to directly convey astrophysical information from the edge of the Universe and from deep inside the most cataclysmic high-energy regions. The neutrino's great penetrating power, however, also makes this particle difficult to detect. Underground detectors have observed low-energy neutrinos from the Sun and a nearby supernova2, as well as neutrinos generated in the Earth's atmosphere. But the very low fluxes of high-energy neutrinos from cosmic sources can be observed only by much larger, expandable detectors in, for example, deep water3,4 or ice5. Here we report the detection of upwardly propagating atmospheric neutrinos by the ice-based Antarctic muon and neutrino detector array (AMANDA). These results establish a technology with which to build a kilometre-scale neutrino observatory necessary for astrophysical observations1.
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13. |
- Andrés, E., et al.
(author)
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Recent results from AMANDA
- 2001
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In: International Journal of Modern Physics A. - 0217-751X .- 1793-656X. ; 16:1C, s. 1013-1015
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present results based on data taken in 1997 with the 302-PMT Antarctic Muon and Neutrino Detector Array-B10 ("AMANDA-B10") array. Atmospheric neutrinos created in the northern hemisphere are observed indirectly through their charged current interactions which produce relativistic, Cherenkov-light-emitting upgoing muons in the South Pole ice cap. The reconstructed angular distribution of these events is in good agreement with expectation and demonstrates the viability of this ice-based device as a neutrino telescope.
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14. |
- Karle, A., et al.
(author)
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Observation of high energy atmospheric neutrinos with AMANDA
- 2000
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In: AIP Conference Proceedings. - : American Institute of Physics (AIP). ; , s. 823-827
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In 1997 the Antarctic Muon and Neutrino Detector Array (AMANDA) started operating with 10 strings. In an analysis of data taken during the first year of operation 188 atmospheric neutrino candidates were found. Their zenith angle distribution agrees with expectations based on Monte Carlo simulations. A preliminary upper limit is given on a diffuse flux of high energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.
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15. |
- Niessen, Peter, et al.
(author)
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Recent results from the amanda experiment
- 2003
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In: Proceedings of 38th Rencontres de Moriond on Electroweak Interactions and Unified Theories 15-22 Mar 2003. Les Arcs, France.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- AMANDA (Antarctic Muon And Neutrino Detector Array) is a neutrino telescope built under the southern polar icecap and its scope is to explore the possibility to detect high energy cosmic neutrinos. This should generate insight into the powerful celestial objects where acceleration mechanisms can bring up to 10 20 eV. We describe the achievements and results from the AMANDA-B10 prototype and the preliminary results from the current AMANDA-II detector which show dramatic increase in sensitivity.
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16. |
- Ahrens, J., et al.
(author)
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Limits to the muon flux from WIMP annihilation in the center of the Earth with the AMANDA detector
- 2002
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In: Physical Review D. - : American Physical Society. - 1550-7998 .- 1550-2368. ; 66:3, s. 032006-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A search for nearly vertical up-going muon-neutrinos from neutralino annihilations in the center of the Earth has been performed with the AMANDA-B10 neutrino detector. The data collected in 130.1 days of live time in 1997, ∼10 9 events, have been analyzed for this search. No excess over the expected atmospheric neutrino background has been observed. An upper limit at 90% confidence level has been obtained on the annihilation rate of neutralinos in the center of the Earth, as well as the corresponding muon flux limit, both as a function of the neutralino mass in the range 100 GeV-5000 GeV. © 2002 The American Physical Society.
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17. |
- Ahrens, J., et al.
(author)
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Search for neutrino-induced cascades with the AMANDA detector
- 2003
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In: Physical Review D. - : American Physical Society (APS). - 1550-7998 .- 1550-2368. ; 67:1, s. 012003-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report on a search for electromagnetic and/or hadronic showers (cascades) induced by a diffuse flux of neutrinos with energies between 5 TeV and 300 TeV from extraterrestrial sources. Cascades may be produced by matter interactions of all flavors of neutrinos, and contained cascades have better energy resolution and afford better background rejection than throughgoing νμ-induced muons. Data taken in 1997 with the AMANDA detector were searched for events with a high-energy cascadelike signature. The observed events are consistent with expected backgrounds from atmospheric neutrinos and catastrophic energy losses from atmospheric muons. Effective volumes for all flavors of neutrinos, which allow the calculation of limits for any neutrino flux model, are presented. The limit on cascades from a diffuse flux of νe+ νμ + ντ+ ν̄e + ν̄μ+ ν̄τ is E2(dΦ/dE)<9.8×10-6 GeV cm-2 s-1 sr-1, assuming a neutrino flavor flux ratio of 1:1:1 at the detector. The limit on cascades from a diffuse flux of νe+ν̄e is E2(dΦ/dE)<6. 5×10-6 GeV cm-2 s-1 sr-1, independent of the assumed neutrino flavor flux ratio. © 2003 The American Physical Society.
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18. |
- Miller, T. C., et al.
(author)
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Particle astrophysics in antarctica
- 1996
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In: International School of Cosmic Ray Astrophysics: 10th Course: Toward the Millennium in Astrophysics: Problems and Prospects 16-26 Jun 1996. Erice, Italy. ; , s. 157-166
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)
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19. |
- Wiebusch, C., et al.
(author)
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Results from AMANDA
- 2002
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In: Modern Physics Letters A. - : Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE). - 0217-7323 .- 1793-6632. ; 17:31, s. 2019-2037
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Antarctic Muon and Neutrino Detector Array (AMANDA) is a high-energy neutrino telescope operating at the geographic South Pole. It is a lattice of photomultiplier tubes buried deep in the polar ice. The primary goal of this detector is to discover astrophysical sources of high energy neutrinos. We describe the detector methods of operation and present results from the AMANDA-B10 prototype. We demonstrate the improved sensitivity of the current AMANDA-II detector. We conclude with an outlook to the envisioned sensitivity of the future IceCube detector.
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20. |
- Ahrens, J., et al.
(author)
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Initial results from AMANDA
- 2001
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In: 21st Rencontres de Moriond Workshop on Very High-Energy Phenomena in the Universe.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)
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21. |
- Ahrens, J., et al.
(author)
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Limits on diffuse fluxes of high energy extraterrestrial neutrinos with the AMANDA-B10 detector
- 2003
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In: Physical Review Letters. - : American Physical Society. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 90:25, s. 2511011-2511015
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A report on the limits, which could be placed on diffuse fluxes of high energy extraterrestrial neutrinos, was presented. The incorporation of neutrino oscillations was necessary for interpreting the limits in terms of the flux from a cosmological distributions of sources. The energetic accelerated environments were presented as the sources of high energy extraterrestrial neutrinos.
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22. |
- Ahrens, J., et al.
(author)
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Muon track reconstruction and data selection techniques in AMANDA
- 2004
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In: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A. - : Elsevier. - 0168-9002 .- 1872-9576. ; 524:1-3, s. 169-194
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Antarctic Muon And Neutrino Detector Array (AMANDA) is a high-energy neutrino telescope operating at the geographic South Pole. It is a lattice of photo-multiplier tubes buried deep in the polar ice between 1500 and 2000 m. The primary goal of this detector is to discover astrophysical sources of high-energy neutrinos. A high-energy muon neutrino coming through the earth from the Northern Hemisphere can be identified by the secondary muon moving upward through the detector. The muon tracks are reconstructed with a maximum likelihood method. It models the arrival times and amplitudes of Cherenkov photons registered by the photo-multipliers. This paper describes the different methods of reconstruction, which have been successfully implemented within AMANDA. Strategies for optimizing the reconstruction performance and rejecting background are presented. For a typical analysis procedure the direction of tracks are reconstructed with about 2° accuracy. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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23. |
- Ahrens, J., et al.
(author)
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Observation of high energy atmospheric neutrinos with the Antarctic muon and neutrino detector array
- 2002
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In: Physical Review D. - : American Physical Society. - 1550-7998 .- 1550-2368. ; 66:1, s. 120051-1200520
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Antarctic muon and neutrino detector array (AMANDA) began collecting data with ten strings in 1997. Results from the first year of operation are presented. Neutrinos coming through the Earth from the Northern Hemisphere are identified by secondary muons moving upward through the array. Cosmic rays in the atmosphere generate a background of downward moving muons, which are about 106 times more abundant than the upward moving muons. Over 130 days of exposure, we observed a total of about 300 neutrino events. In the same period, a background of 1.05 × 109 cosmic ray muon events was recorded. The observed neutrino flux is consistent with atmospheric neutrino predictions. Monte Carlo simulations indicate that 90% of these events lie in the energy range 66 GeV to 3.4 TeV. The observation of atmospheric neutrinos consistent with expectations establishes AMANDA-B10 as a working neutrino telescope.
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24. |
- Ahrens, J., et al.
(author)
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Search for point sources of high-energy neutrinos with AMANDA
- 2003
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In: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : Institute of Physics (IOP). - 2041-8205 .- 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 583:2 I, s. 1040-1057
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper describes the search for astronomical sources of high-energy neutrinos using the AMANDA-B10 detector, an array of 302 photomultiplier tubes used for the detection of Cerenkov light from upward-traveling neutrino-induced muons, buried deep in ice at the South Pole. The absolute pointing accuracy and angular resolution were studied by using coincident events between the AMANDA detector and two independent telescopes on the surface, the GASP air Cerenkov telescope and the SPASE extensive air shower array. Using data collected from 1997 April to October (130.1 days of live time), a general survey of the northern hemisphere revealed no statistically significant excess of events from any direction. The sensitivity for a flux of muon neutrinos is based on the effective detection area for through-going muons. Averaged over the northern sky, the effective detection area exceeds 10,000 m2 for E μ ≈ 10 TeV. Neutrinos generated in the atmosphere by cosmic-ray interactions were used to verify the predicted performance of the detector. For a source with a differential energy spectrum proportional to Eν -2 and declination larger than +40°, we obtain E2(dNν/dE) ≤ 10-6 GeV cm-2 s-1 for an energy threshold of 10 GeV.
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25. |
- Andres, E., et al.
(author)
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Results from the AMANDA high energy neutrino detector
- 2000
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In: Nuclear physics B, Proceedings supplements. - : Elsevier. - 0920-5632 .- 1873-3832. ; 91:1-3, s. 423-430
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper briefly summarizes the search for astronomical sources of high-energy neutrinos using the AMANDA-B10 detector. The complete data set from 1997 was analyzed. For Eμ > 10 TeV, the detector exceeds 10,000 m2 in effective area between declinations of 25 and 90 degrees. Neutrinos generated in the atmosphere by cosmic ray interactions were used to verify the overall sensitivity of the detector. The absolute pointing accuracy and angular resolution has been confirmed by the analysis of coincident events between the SPASE air shower array and the AMANDA detector. Preliminary flux limits from point source candidates are presented. For declinations larger than +45 degrees, our results compare favorably to existing limits for sources in the Southern sky. We also present the current status of the searches for high energy neutrino emission from diffusely distributed sources, GRBs, and WIMPs from the center of the earth.
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