IceCube

TL;DR

IceCube is a large-scale neutrino observatory under construction at the South Pole, designed to detect neutrinos and cosmic rays across a wide energy range, with initial results confirming it meets its design goals.

Contribution

This paper describes the design, construction progress, and initial results of the IceCube neutrino telescope, a novel large-volume detector for high-energy neutrino astronomy.

Findings

Construction is 67% complete with 59 strings operational.

The observatory meets its design goals based on initial data.

Selected early results demonstrate the detector's capabilities.

Abstract

IceCube is a 1 km^3 neutrino telescope currently under construction at the South Pole. The detector will consist of 5160 optical sensors deployed at depths between 1450 m and 2450 m in clear Antarctic ice distributed over 86 strings. An air shower array covering a surface area of 1 km2 above the in-ice detector will measure cosmic ray air showers in the energy range from 300 TeV to above 1 EeV. The detector is designed to detect neutrinos of all flavors: electron-, muon-, and tau-neutrinos. With 59 strings in operation in 2009, construction is 67% complete. Based on data taken to date, the observatory meets its design goals. Selected results will be presented.