Physics Potential of the IceCube Upgrade

• Published in: Journal of Physics: Conference Series
• Main Author: Ma, Wing Yan
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: IOP Publishing 2020
• Subjects: South Pole; South pole
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1468/1/012169; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/1468/1/012169/pdf; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/1468/1/012169

Abstract The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is a cubic-kilometer Cherenkov detector at the South Pole. The planned Upgrade project, which consists of seven new strings, will be deployed with densely spaced optical modules to improve the neutrino detection capability at a few GeV level. The goal of IceCube Upgrade is to provide world-leading sensitivity to neutrino oscillations and to take unique measurements of tau neutrino appearance with high precision. It also serves as a R&D platform for the future IceCube-Gen2 experiment. The newly designed DOMs will provide improved detection efficiency and directional resolution for Cherenkov photons. Furthermore, new calibration devices will be introduced which will provide a better understanding of the ice properties, thereby reduce the detector systematic uncertainties. The resulting calibration improvement from the Upgrade will be applied to the entire archival data of IceCube collected for more than 10 years, with an expected improvement of the angular and spatial resolution of the detected astrophysical neutrino events. The Upgrade can be regarded as the first stage in the development of IceCube-Gen2, the next-generation neutrino telescope at the South Pole.