Direct Measurement of the Atmospheric Muon Energy Spectrum with IceCube

TL;DR

This paper presents a direct measurement of the atmospheric muon energy spectrum near the horizon using IceCube's 22-string configuration, providing insights into cosmic ray composition around the knee.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method to estimate muon energies from photon counts in neutrino telescopes, extending their physics capabilities.

Findings

Measured muon energy spectrum near the horizon

Sensitive to cosmic ray composition around the knee

Method applicable to similar detectors

Abstract

Data from the IceCube detector in its 22-string configuration (IC22) were used to directly measure the atmospheric muon energy spectrum near the horizon. After passage through more than 10 km of ice, muon bundles from air showers are reduced to single muons, whose energy can be estimated from the total number of photons registered in the detector. The energy distribution obtained in this way is sensitive to the cosmic ray composition around the knee and is complementary to measurements by air shower arrays. The method described extends the physics potential of neutrino telescopes and can easily be applied in similar detectors. Presented is the result from the analysis of one month of IC22 data.