Neutrino Astronomy and Cosmic Rays with IceCube

中微子天文学和宇宙射线与 IceCube

• 批准号: 0969661
• 负责人: Spencer Klein
• 金额: $ 81.7万
• 依托单位: University of California-Berkeley
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-07-01 至 2013-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0969661&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Neutrino; Astronomy; Cosmic; Rays; IceCube

Air shower detectors have observed cosmic rays with ultra high energies. However, their sources, nuclear composition and acceleration mechanism(s) remain unknown. Some possible sources include active galactic nuclei, gamma-ray bursters, and/or supernova remnants. In contrast to charged cosmic rays which bend in interstellar magnetic fields, the neutrinos that are expected to be produced in these accelerators travel in straight lines, so do point back to their sources. The IceCube observatory being built at the South Pole to search for these sources will soon reach 1 cubic km in volume. The accompanying 1 square km surface array (IceTop) detects air showers with energies above 300 TeV. Combining shower data with measurements of TeV muons from IceCube makes it possible to study the cosmic-ray composition. By using IceCube to veto events containing muons, it is also possible to identify photon-initiated showers. This award will provide funds to study three topics pertaining to the origins and composition of cosmic rays: a search for a diffuse neutrino flux from the entire sky, a measurement of the transverse momentum (pT) spectrum of high pT muons in air showers, and a search for PeV photons from the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds. During the three years of this grant, they will either observe extra-terrestrial neutrinos or set limits below the Waxman-Bahcall bound. The pT spectrum of these muons can be calculated using perturbative QCD, thus avoiding the phenomenological models that are required in other composition studies. The group will continue contributing to IceCube Maintenance and Operations work in the areas of optical module simulation and calibration, detector verification and calibration and in Monte Carlo simulation production. The Education and Outreach component will communicate this forefront research to students and the general public, through presentations at elementary through high schools and public lectures. They educate both undergraduate and graduate students, by involving them in their research.

空气簇射探测器观测到了具有超高能量的宇宙射线。然而，它们的来源、核成分和加速机制(S)仍然未知。一些可能的来源包括活动星系核、伽马射线爆发和/或超新星遗迹。与在星际磁场中弯曲的带电宇宙射线不同，预计在这些加速器中产生的中微子是直线运动的，因此确实指向它们的来源。为寻找这些震源而在南极建造的冰立方观测站的体积将很快达到1000立方公里。伴随而来的1平方公里地面阵列(冰顶)探测能量超过300TeV的空气簇射。结合流星雨数据和来自冰立方的TeV介子测量，可以研究宇宙线的组成。通过使用IceCube来否决包含µ子的事件，还可以识别光子引发的簇射。该奖项将提供资金，用于研究与宇宙射线的起源和组成有关的三个主题：寻找来自整个天空的弥漫中微子流量，测量空气骤雨中高PT微子的横向动量(PT)谱，以及搜索来自银河系和麦哲伦云的PeV光子。在这笔赠款的三年时间里，他们要么观测地外中微子，要么将限制设置在Waxman-Bahall界限以下。这些介子的PT谱可以用微扰QCD计算，从而避免了在其他成分研究中所需要的唯象模型。该小组将继续在光学模块模拟和校准、探测器核查和校准以及蒙特卡洛模拟生产领域为IceCube维护和运营工作作出贡献。教育和外联部分将通过在小学到高中的演讲和公开讲座，向学生和公众宣传这一前沿研究。他们通过让本科生和研究生参与他们的研究来教育他们。