Towards IceCube-Gen2: Plans for the in-ice radio array

Abstract

Building on the success of IceCube at the South Pole, the next generation experiment IceCube-Gen2 is taking shape. Next to an extension of the optical array, further developing the optical detector learning for the IceCube-Upgrade currently in preparation, IceCube-Gen2 is planned to feature a large in-ice radio array targeting neutrinos beyond PeV energies. This radio array will build on heritage from many former and existing radio neutrino experiments. It will dominate the sensitivity of IceCube-Gen2 at EeV energies, improving at least an order of magnitude in sensitivity over existing arrays. IceCube-Gen2 will also feature a much enlarged surface array, including in-air radio antennas targeting air showers. This contribution will highlight the current status of IceCube-Gen2 with a focus on the in-ice radio array.

Design and Expected Performance of the IceCube-Gen2 Surface Array and its Radio Component

“…The IceCube-Gen2 Surface Array is thus planned to be comprised of about 160 such stations: one for each of the 120 optical strings of IceCube-Gen2, the other stations mostly for the surface enhancement of the current IceTop array and a few more to provide a smooth transition between these two parts of the surface array. Over the largest part of the array, the spacing between the stations will hence be the same as the approximately 240 m spacing between the optical strings, i.e., the surface antenna density will be about 50 − 60 antennas per km 2 .…”

“…IceCube-Gen2, the next generation extension of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole [1], will feature three arrays: a deep Optical Array enlarging IceCube's current deep array by an order of magnitude in volume, a much larger Radio Array for ultra-high-energy neutrinos, and a Surface Array comprised of elevated scintillation and radio detectors above the footprint of the Optical Array. The Radio Array is described in a dedicated contribution at this conference [2] and must not to be confused with the radio component of the Surface Array. The Surface Array serves as a veto to improve the sensitivity to high-energy neutrinos of several 100 TeV to PeV, and -beyond that -enables a unique science case regarding the particle physics in cosmic-ray air showers and regarding the astrophysics of the most energetic Galactic cosmic rays.…”