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Characterization of the atmospheric muon flux in IceCube
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Characterization of the atmospheric muon flux in IceCube

Maryon Ahrens, Christian Bohm, Jonathan P. Dumm, Chad Finley, Samuel Flis, Per Olof Hulth, Klas Hultqvist, Christian Walck, Martin Wolf and Marcel Zoll
Astroparticle physics, v 78(C)
2016
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.astropartphys.2016.01.006
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.astropartphys.2016.01.006View
Accepted (AM)Open Access (Publisher-Specific),  Open

Abstract

Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology Atmospheric muons Cosmic rays Fysik Naturvetenskap Prompt leptons Natural Sciences Physical Sciences
Muons produced in atmospheric cosmic ray showers account for the by far dominant part of the event yield in large-volume underground particle detectors. The IceCube detector, with an instrumented volume of about a cubic kilometer, has the potential to conduct unique investigations on atmospheric muons by exploiting the large collection area and the possibility to track particles over a long distance. Through detailed reconstruction of energy deposition along the tracks, the characteristics of muon bundles can be quantified, and individual particles of exceptionally high energy identified. The data can then be used to constrain the cosmic ray primary flux and the contribution to atmospheric lepton fluxes from prompt decays of short-lived hadrons. In this paper, techniques for the extraction of physical measurements from atmospheric muon events are described and first results are presented. The multiplicity spectrum of TeV muons in cosmic ray air showers for primaries in the energy range from the knee to the ankle is derived and found to be consistent with recent results from surface detectors. The single muon energy spectrum is determined up to PeV energies and shows a clear indication for the emergence of a distinct spectral component from prompt decays of short-lived hadrons. The magnitude of the prompt flux, which should include a substantial contribution from light vector meson di-muon decays, is consistent with current theoretical predictions. The variety of measurements and high event statistics can also be exploited for the evaluation of systematic effects. In the course of this study, internal inconsistencies in the zenith angle distribution of events were found which indicate the presence of an unexplained effect outside the currently applied range of detector systematics. The underlying cause could be related to the hadronic interaction models used to describe muon production in air showers.

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Physics, Particles & Fields
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