This proposal requests support for the University of Maryland group to pursue physics analysis with the IceCube detector. The IceCube Observatory is currently being constructed at the Antarctic South Pole Station and data taking was scheduled to begin in early 2005 with the deployment of the first strings of IceCube photodetectors. The combination of these new strings and the existing AMANDA strings will make IceCube an extremely powerful detector and the analysis of the data should be started as soon as possible.

This funding will enable the Maryland group to take a major role in producing results from this exciting new detector. The field of neutrino astronomy is on the threshold of a new era with the construction of the 1 cubic km IceCube neutrino detector. The observation of high-energy neutrinos from distant astrophysical sources will open a new window on the sky, which will provide new information on the acceleration mechanisms at work in these objects and insight into the nature of cosmic radiation. During the period of this award, the IceCube detector will reach the milestone of 1 cubic km-year of telescope data. To become the world's most sensitive detector, there are important performance characteristics that must be characterized and understood. This group will investigate how to improve the detector while they are publishing results of searches with an unprecedented sensitivity for the potential detection of high-energy astrophysical neutrino sources. The specific physics topics they plan to address are: 1) a search for astrophysical point sources of neutrinos using muons in the IceCube detector; 2) a search for WIMP particles using muon neutrinos in the IceCube detector; and 3) the development of techniques and reconstruction methods for identifying shower cascades in the IceCube detector as a way to measure electron and tau type neutrinos.

For Broader Impacts both the Maryland group and IceCube have been very active in exposing students and the general public to the excitement of the particle astrophysics field. IceCube, in particular, brings a unique sense of adventure to the subject, and makes it easy to capture the attention of people from all walks of life. Maryland is also a mentor site for the Quarknet program.

Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Institute
Division of Physics (PHY)
Application #
0502709
Program Officer
James J. Whitmore
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2005-09-15
Budget End
2008-08-31
Support Year
Fiscal Year
2005
Total Cost
$751,610
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Maryland College Park
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
College Park
State
MD
Country
United States
Zip Code
20742