First measurements with prototype radio antennas for the IceTop detector array

TL;DR

This paper reports on the initial deployment and testing of prototype radio antennas at IceTop, aiming to enhance cosmic-ray air-shower detection and enable new astrophysical research with a hybrid detector system.

Contribution

It introduces the first measurements with prototype radio antennas integrated into the IceTop array for hybrid cosmic-ray detection at the South Pole.

Findings

Successful deployment of prototype radio antennas at IceTop

First measurement results demonstrating radio detection capabilities

Plans for expanding to a full hybrid detector array

Abstract

Extending large-scale air-shower arrays with radio antennas can increase the detector's performance, as the radio emission by cosmic-ray air showers provides an additional measurement of the electromagnetic component. Instrumenting the IceCube surface detector IceTop with radio detectors as well as with new particle detectors in a hybrid approach will enhance the measurement and reconstruction accuracy and allow for the characterization of highly inclined air showers. This will enable a better understanding of the atmospheric background for the in-ice neutrino measurements. It also opens the opportunity for new science cases, e.g. the search for PeV gamma rays from the Galactic Center, which is visible from the IceCube site year-round at an inclination of 61$^{\circ}$. Adding to several scintillator particle detectors already running at the South Pole, two prototype radio antennas have been deployed at the IceCube site in January 2019 using the same DAQ system as the scintillators. The antennas serve as a test setup for a future deployment of radio antennas extending the scintillator array planned inside the IceTop footprint. In this proceeding, the antennas considered for deployment and the hybrid DAQ system processing the signals of the particle and radio detectors will be introduced. First measurement results at the South Pole will be presented and future plans for a full hybrid particle and radio detector array inside the IceTop footprint will be shown.