Speaker
Description
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory instruments one cubic kilometer of deep-glacial ice between 1500 and 2500 m below the surface at the geographic South Pole to detect neutrinos via Cherenkov radiation. This detector is responsible for a number of key observations in neutrino astrophysics, which include the discovery of a high-energy astrophysical neutrino flux and some neutrino sources such as a blazar and the galactic plane.
During 2025/26 we deployed an extension called the IceCube Upgrade. Five new strings equipped with new photosensor designs, now form a dense infill in the middle of the existing detector. The science goals of this detector are twofold: Given the higher photocathode density an improved atmospheric neutrino event selection and reconstruction at a few GeV can be achieved for enhanced capabilities to study neutrino oscillations.
Secondly, novel calibration devices will improve the knowledge of the optical properties of the glacial ice and the detector response. These new calibration results will be applied to archival IceCube data, improving angular and spatial resolution of all detected astrophysical neutrino events.
The IceCube Upgrade also serves as a first step towards the next-generation neutrino telescope at South Pole, called IceCube-Gen2.