The IceCube Neutrino Observatory: Instrumentation and Online Systems

TL;DR

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is a large-scale detector built into Antarctic ice, designed to detect high-energy neutrinos, with robust instrumentation, calibration, and online systems ensuring high operational stability and data collection.

Contribution

This paper details the design, construction, calibration, and operational systems of IceCube, highlighting its large scale, high efficiency, and stability since completion.

Findings

98.4% of DOMs are operational and collecting data

Detector uptime consistently at 99%

Stable operations expected until at least the late 2020s

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.