Abstract
A surface array of radio antennas will enhance the performance of the IceTop array and enable new, complementary science goals. First, the accuracy for cosmic-ray air showers will be increased since the radio array provides a calorimetric measurement of the electromagnetic component and is sensitive to the position of the shower maximum. This enhanced accuracy can be used to better measure the mass composition, to search for possible mass-dependent anisotropies in the arrival directions of cosmic rays, and for more thorough tests of hadronic interaction models. Second, the sensitivity of the radio array to inclined showers will increase the sky coverage for cosmic-ray measurements. Third, the radio array can be used to search for PeV photons from the Galactic Center. Since IceTop is planned to be enhanced by a scintillator array in the near future, a radio extension sharing the same infrastructure can be installed with minimal additional effort and excellent scientific prospects. The combination of ice-Cherenkov, scintillation, and radio detectors at IceCube will provide unprecedented accuracy for the study of highenergy Galactic cosmic rays.
Highlights
Present SituationCosmic-ray science in the energy range up to a few EeV (= 1018 eV) and the search for high-energy photons are important science goals of IceCube after its central purpose as a detector of high-energy neutrinos
The sensitivity to the electromagnetic component will be achieved for zenith angles θ 40◦ by the installation of a scintillator array at the surface [5]
The combination of improved accuracy and sky coverage will enhance the performance of IceCube for several of its present science goals and enable it to study new aspects: charged cosmic ray present sky coverage of surface detector analyses
Summary
Cosmic-ray science in the energy range up to a few EeV (= 1018 eV) and the search for high-energy photons are important science goals of IceCube after its central purpose as a detector of high-energy neutrinos. The IceCube experiment detects air showers by a dedicated array of ice-Cherenkov detectors at the surface, called IceTop [1]. The sensitivity to the electromagnetic component will be achieved for zenith angles θ 40◦ by the installation of a scintillator array at the surface [5]. This array enable the calibration of the effect of the snow coverage. It will enhance the mass sensitivity of IceTop by measuring the electron-muon ratio in combination with the ice-Cherenkov tanks. While the classic techniques of fluorescence and atmospheric Cherenkov light are restricted in duty cycle (at the South Pole to periods of clear weather during the winter months), the radio array can operate continuously and in coincidence with any of the particle detectors
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