Supernova Detection in IceCube: Status and Future

TL;DR

This paper reviews IceCube's current supernova detection capabilities and introduces a new coincident hit technique that enhances information extraction, especially with denser sensor arrays, improving detection sensitivity.

Contribution

It presents a novel coincident hit method for supernova detection in IceCube, offering additional spectral information beyond standard count rate approaches.

Findings

The new technique can extract average energy and spectral features.

Sensor density improvements enhance detection potential.

The method complements existing count rate detection strategies.

Abstract

The IceCube detector, located at the South Pole, is discussed as a detector for core collapse supernovae. The large flux of $\bar{\nu}_{e}$ from a Galactic supernova gives rise to Cherenkov light from positrons and electrons created in neutrino interactions which increase the overall count rate of the photomultipliers significantly. We will give an overview of the standard, count rate based, method for supernova detection and present the development of a novel technique. This technique uses coincident hits to extract additional information such as the average energy and spectral features. The potential of this technique increases with a higher sensor density, such as foreseen in projected extensions of IceCube/DeepCore.