IceCube-Gen2: A Vision for the Future of Neutrino Astronomy in Antarctica

TL;DR

IceCube-Gen2 proposes a large-scale neutrino detector expansion in Antarctica to significantly enhance astrophysical neutrino detection and source identification, advancing neutrino astronomy and multi-messenger research.

Contribution

This paper presents a detailed vision and design for expanding the IceCube detector to a 10 km³ volume, enabling new discoveries in neutrino astrophysics.

Findings

Detection of astrophysical neutrinos indicating high hadronic activity

Proposal for a 10 km³ neutrino observatory at the South Pole

Potential to identify neutrino sources and discover GZK neutrinos

Abstract

The recent observation by the IceCube neutrino observatory of an astrophysical flux of neutrinos represents the "first light" in the nascent field of neutrino astronomy. The observed diffuse neutrino flux seems to suggest a much larger level of hadronic activity in the non-thermal universe than previously thought and suggests a rich discovery potential for a larger neutrino observatory. This document presents a vision for an substantial expansion of the current IceCube detector, IceCube-Gen2, including the aim of instrumenting a $10\,\mathrm{km}^3$ volume of clear glacial ice at the South Pole to deliver substantial increases in the astrophysical neutrino sample for all flavors. A detector of this size would have a rich physics program with the goal to resolve the sources of these astrophysical neutrinos, discover GZK neutrinos, and be a leading observatory in future multi-messenger astronomy programs.