The ICECUBE prototype string in AMANDA

• Main Authors: Ackermann, M, Ahrens, J, Bai, X, Bartelt, M, Barwick, S W, Bay, R, Becka, T, Becker, J K, Becker, K H, Bernardini, E, Bertrand, D, Boersma, D J, Boser, S, Botner, O, Bouchta, A, Bouhali, O, Braun, J, Burgess, C, Burgess, T, Castermans, T, Chinowsky, W, Chirkin, D, Conrad, J, Cooley, J, Cowen, D F, Davour, A, De Clercq, C, De Young, T R, Desiati, P, Ekstrom, P, Feser, T, Gaug, M, Gaisser, T K, Ganugapati, R, Geenen, H, Gerhardt, L, Goldschmidt, A, Gro, A, Hallgren, A, Halzen, F, Hanson, K, Hardtke, R, Harenberg, T, Hauschildt, T, Helbing, K, Hellwig, M, Herquet, P, Hill, G C, Hubert, D, Hughey, B, Hulth, P O, Hultqvist, K, Hundertmark, S, Jacobsen, J, Kampert, K H, Karle, A, Kelley, J L, Kestel, M, Kohnen, G, Köpke, L, Kowalski, M, Krasberg, M, Kühn, K, Leich, H, Leuthold, M, Liubarsky, I, Ludvig, J, Lundberg, J, Madsen, J, Marciniewski, P, Matis, H S, McParland, C P, Messarius, T, Minaeva, Y, Miocinovic, P, Morse, R, Munich, K S, Nahnhauer, R, Nam, J, Neunhoffer, T, Niessen, P, Nygren, D R, Ogelman, H, Olbrechts, P, Pérez de los Heros, C, Pohl, A C, Porrata, R, Price, P B, Przybylski, G T, Rawlins, K, Resconi, E, Rhode, W, Ribordy, M, Richter, S, Robbins, S, Rodrguez Martino, J, Sander, H G, Schlenstedt, S, Schneider, D, Schwarz, R, Silvestri, A, Solarz, M, Sopher, J, Spiczak, G M, Spiering, C, Stamatikos, M, Steele, D, Steffen, P, Stokstad, R G, Sulanke, K H, Taboada, I, Thollander, L, Tilav, S, Wagner, W, Walck, C, Walter, M, Wang, Y R, Wendt, C, Wiebusch, C, Wischnewski, R, Wissing, H, Woschnagg, K, Yodh, G
• Language: English
• Published: 2006
• Subjects: Astrophysics and Astronomy; Antarctic; South Pole; The Antarctic; Antarc*; South pole
• Online Access: http://cds.cern.ch/record/923038

The Antarctic Muon And Neutrino Detector Array (Amanda) is a high-energy neutrino telescope. It is a lattice of optical modules (OM) installed in the clear ice below the South Pole Station. Each OM contains a photomultiplier tube (PMT) that detects photons of Cherenkov light generated in the ice by muons and electrons. IceCube is a cubic-kilometer-sized expansion of Amanda currently being built at the South Pole. In IceCube the PMT signals are digitized already in the optical modules and transmitted to the surface. A prototype string of 41 OMs equipped with this new all-digital technology was deployed in the Amanda array in the year 2000. In this paper we describe the technology and demonstrate that this string serves as a proof of concept for the IceCube array. Our investigations show that the OM timing accuracy is 5 ns. Atmospheric muons are detected in excellent agreement with expectations with respect to both angular distribution and absolute rate.