Very Late Afterpulses and Search for the Neutron Echo in IceCube

While high-energy astrophysical neutrinos are well-established, their flavor composition remains relatively unconstrained. In IceCube, long muon tracks from $\nu_{\mu}$ CC interactions are easily identified but the detector geometry does not allow sufficient granular resolution to distinguish the cascade-type events. The Neutron Echo - a delayed light signal in the detector from neutron capture and de-excitation - can probe the shower’s hadron content and thus the underlying interaction. A significant background arises from the late PMT afterpulses, which are temporally coincident with the physics signal. The traditional IceCube DAQ has a limited readout window with significant deadtime between triggers, which is insufficient to capture the late pulses. A recently developed deadtime-free DAQ mode, with an extended readout window, enables their detection. An observed excess in the delayed time spectrum over the background would be compatible with the Neutron Echo hypothesis. In this contribution, we summarize the physics scope of delayed signals, discuss the timing spectrum of the signal and PMT background, highlight the capabilities of the new DAQ system for recording late pulses, and emphasize the potential of IceCube for particle identification through delayed signals.

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Publication Details

Published
2025-09-24
DOI
https://doi.org/10.22323/1.501.1030
Primary Topic
Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Very Late Afterpulses and Search for the Neutron Echo in IceCube

L. Schumacher, L. Köpke, Sofia Athanasiadou, Kiara Carloni et al.
Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena
article

Very Late Afterpulses and Search for the Neutron Echo in IceCube

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article en

Abstract

While high-energy astrophysical neutrinos are well-established, their flavor composition remains relatively unconstrained. In IceCube, long muon tracks from $\nu_{\mu}$ CC interactions are easily identified but the detector geometry does not allow sufficient granular resolution to distinguish the cascade-type events. The Neutron Echo - a delayed light signal in the detector from neutron capture and de-excitation - can probe the shower’s hadron content and thus the underlying interaction. A significant background arises from the late PMT afterpulses, which are temporally coincident with the physics signal. The traditional IceCube DAQ has a limited readout window with significant deadtime between triggers, which is insufficient to capture the late pulses. A recently developed deadtime-free DAQ mode, with an extended readout window, enables their detection. An observed excess in the delayed time spectrum over the background would be compatible with the Neutron Echo hypothesis. In this contribution, we summarize the physics scope of delayed signals, discuss the timing spectrum of the signal and PMT background, highlight the capabilities of the new DAQ system for recording late pulses, and emphasize the potential of IceCube for particle identification through delayed signals.

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, 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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