Spectrum of PeV Cosmic-Ray Protons and Helium Nuclei with IceCube

The IceCube Observatory comprises a cubic-kilometer particle detector deep in the Antarctic ice and the cosmic-ray air-shower array IceTop at the surface above. Previous analyses of the cosmic-ray composition have used coincident events with IceTop detecting the electromagnetic shower footprint as well as GeV muons, while the sensors submerged in the ice measure the TeV muons from the same events. The energy range of previous composition analyses, however, has been limited to 3 PeV primary energy and above, whereas the IceTop all-particle energy spectrum has been extended down to 250 TeV. This contribution presents a method to reconstruct the combined spectrum of cosmic-ray protons and helium nuclei, starting at 200 TeV primary energy. The resulting H+He spectrum closes the gap in the measurements of light cosmic rays between IceCube as well as KASCADE and experiments measuring in the TeV energy range, such as DAMPE and HAWC.

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Publication Details

Published
2025-09-24
DOI
https://doi.org/10.22323/1.501.0376
Primary Topic
Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena
Type
article
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article

Spectrum of PeV Cosmic-Ray Protons and Helium Nuclei with IceCube

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Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena
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Spectrum of PeV Cosmic-Ray Protons and Helium Nuclei with IceCube

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Abstract

The IceCube Observatory comprises a cubic-kilometer particle detector deep in the Antarctic ice and the cosmic-ray air-shower array IceTop at the surface above. Previous analyses of the cosmic-ray composition have used coincident events with IceTop detecting the electromagnetic shower footprint as well as GeV muons, while the sensors submerged in the ice measure the TeV muons from the same events. The energy range of previous composition analyses, however, has been limited to 3 PeV primary energy and above, whereas the IceTop all-particle energy spectrum has been extended down to 250 TeV. This contribution presents a method to reconstruct the combined spectrum of cosmic-ray protons and helium nuclei, starting at 200 TeV primary energy. The resulting H+He spectrum closes the gap in the measurements of light cosmic rays between IceCube as well as KASCADE and experiments measuring in the TeV energy range, such as DAMPE and HAWC.

National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Nvidia, Michigan State University, Villum Fonden, Polarforskningssekretariatet, Marquette University, Western Canada Research Grid, European Commission, National Research Foundation, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Fonds De La Recherche Scientifique - FNRS, Belgian Federal Science Policy Office, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, National Research Foundation of Korea, Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse, Vetenskapsrådet, RWTH Aachen University, Chiba University, Helmholtz Alliance for Astroparticle Physics, Alliance de recherche numérique du Canada, College of Engineering, Michigan State University, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Marsden Fund, Institute for Global Prominent Research, Chiba University, Office of Polar Programs, Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure, Office of Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research
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Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena
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