Improved Gamma-Hadron Separation for PeV Photon Searches with IceCube
International Cosmic Ray Conference, pp. 837
Abstract
IceTop, the km$^2$ surface array of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole, is sensitive to air showers of all primary particles, including gamma rays. In particular, in the PeV energy range, the combination of IceTop and IceCube’s deep optical detector provides excellent gamma-hadron separation. Almost all air showers induced by cosmic-ray protons and heavier nuclei in this energy range contain high-energy muons detectable by the deep detector, while most photon-induced air showers do not. Therefore, IceCube’s deep detector can be used to strongly suppress hadronic background in photon searches. Furthermore, the lateral distribution of the air-shower signal in IceTop provides additional gamma-hadron separation. In the PeV energy range, the gamma-hadron separation achieved is better than $10^{-3}$: air-shower events measured with IceCube are suppressed more than $1000$ times stronger than photon-induced showers of the same energy simulated with Sibyll 2.3d. This improved gamma-hadron separation in combination with an extension of the energy range to lower energies provides discovery potential for future searches for PeV photon sources in IceCube’s field of view.
Authors 95
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Affiliation as printed
Université Libre de Bruxelles , Science Faculty CP230 , B-1050 Brussels , Belgium
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University of California, Berkeley
Affiliation as printed
Dept. of Physics , University of California , Berkeley , CA 94720 , USA
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Affiliation as printed
Fakultät für Physik & Astronomie , Ruhr-Universität Bochum , D-44780 Bochum , Germany
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Karlsruhe Institute of Technology · The University of Adelaide
Affiliation as printed
Department of Physics , University of Adelaide , Adelaide , 5005 , Australia
Institute for Astroparticle Physics , Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
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University of Delaware · RWTH Aachen University
Affiliation as printed
Bartol Research Institute , Department of Physics and Astronomy , University of Delaware
III. Physikalisches Institut , RWTH Aachen University , D-52056 Aachen , Germany
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Georgia Institute of Technology
Affiliation as printed
School of Physics and Center for Relativistic Astrophysics , Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta , GA 30332 , USA
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Karlsruhe Institute of Technology · The University of Adelaide
Affiliation as printed
Department of Physics , University of Adelaide , Adelaide , 5005 , Australia
Institute for Astroparticle Physics , Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
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University of Delaware · RWTH Aachen University
Affiliation as printed
Bartol Research Institute , Department of Physics and Astronomy , University of Delaware
III. Physikalisches Institut , RWTH Aachen University , D-52056 Aachen , Germany
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Affiliation as printed
Université Libre de Bruxelles , Science Faculty CP230 , B-1050 Brussels , Belgium
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University of Delaware · RWTH Aachen University
Affiliation as printed
Bartol Research Institute , Department of Physics and Astronomy , University of Delaware
III. Physikalisches Institut , RWTH Aachen University , D-52056 Aachen , Germany
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University of Delaware · RWTH Aachen University
Affiliation as printed
Bartol Research Institute , Department of Physics and Astronomy , University of Delaware
III. Physikalisches Institut , RWTH Aachen University , D-52056 Aachen , Germany
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