The IceCube Neutrino Observatory has been operating at NSF’s
Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station for more than a decade, briefly
catching neutrinos as they travel through space at almost the speed of
light and pass through almost anything they encounter.
The data from IceCube’s 5,000-plus optical sensors—suspended on 86
cables, like beads on a string, deep in the Antarctic glacier—has
allowed new research into violent events such as colliding black holes
and exploding stars. Now, the scientists who collaborate on the
observatory are working on an upgrade.
In 2019, the NSF awarded a grant to the IceCube Collaboration to begin upgrading the capacity of the observatory.
Planning for the next step, a large-scale extension called IceCube-Gen2,
is underway now. UD is playing a lead role regarding a surface detector
for cosmic rays that will complement the extension of detectors deep in
the ice. Construction of the additional detectors is proposed to start
in 2024, with installation at the Pole beginning two or three years
later and lasting several years, giving physicists access to its data
far into the future.
“This is a project that will go on to be worked on by the next generation of scientists,” Schroeder said.
The student research program at UD this summer was designed to train
some of that next generation. It was part of a larger grant supporting
the improvement of infrastructure in the EPSCoR states of Alabama,
Alaska, Delaware, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota.
While UD is not the lead institution, it receives the largest share
of the $6 million, about $1.8 million, and Seckel serves as chair of the
collaborative grant’s executive committee. The grant supports early
career faculty, trains postdoctoral scholars and college students and
exposes high school students from underrepresented groups to IceCube,
big data and STEM fields in general.
“The success of this project will establish a diverse, competitive
and sustainable EPSCoR team with increased research capacity to ensure
that EPSCoR leverages a prominent role in IceCube’s future,” according
to the grant proposal.
To learn more about EPSCoR at UD, visit Delaware EPSCoR.
Article by Ann Manser; photos courtesy of Frank Schroeder, Alan Coleman and the IceCube Collaboration
Published Aug. 24, 2021