Search for Galactic PeV Gamma Rays with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory
ArXiv 1210.7992 (2012)
Authors:
IceCube collaboration, MG Aartsen, R Abbasi, Y Abdou, M Ackermann, J Adams, JA Aguilar, M Ahlers, D Altmann, K Andeen, J Auffenberg, X Bai, M Baker, SW Barwick, V Baum, R Bay, K Beattie, JJ Beatty, S Bechet, J Becker Tjus, K-H Becker, M Bell, ML Benabderrahmane, S BenZvi, J Berdermann, P Berghaus, D Berley, E Bernardini, D Bertrand, DZ Besson, D Bindig, M Bissok, E Blaufuss, J Blumenthal, DJ Boersma, S Bohaichuk, C Bohm, D Bose1, S Böser, O Botner, L Brayeur, AM Brown, R Bruijn, J Brunner, S Buitink, M Carson, J Casey, M Casier, D Chirkin, B Christy, K Clark, F Clevermann, S Cohen, DF Cowen, AH Cruz Silva, M Danninger, J Daughhetee, JC Davis, C De Clercq, S De Ridder, F Descamps, P Desiati, G de Vries-Uiterweerd, T DeYoung, JC Díaz-Vélez, J Dreyer, JP Dumm, M Dunkman, R Eagan, B Eberhardt, J Eisch, RW Ellsworth, O Engdegård, S Euler, PA Evenson, O Fadiran, AR Fazely, A Fedynitch, J Feintzeig, T Feusels, K Filimonov, C Finley, T Fischer-Wasels, S Flis, A Franckowiak, R Franke, K Frantzen, T Fuchs, TK Gaisser, J Gallagher, L Gerhardt, L Gladstone, T Glüsenkamp, A Goldschmidt, G Golup, JA Goodman, D Góra, D Grant, A Groß, S Grullon, M Gurtner, C Ha, A Haj Ismail, A Hallgren, F Halzen, K Hanson, D Heereman, P Heimann, D Heinen, K Helbing, R Hellauer, S Hickford, GC Hill, KD Hoffman, R Hoffmann, A Homeier, K Hoshina, W Huelsnitz, PO Hulth, K Hultqvist, S Hussain, A Ishihara, E Jacobi, J Jacobsen, GS Japaridze, O Jlelati, A Kappes, T Karg, A Karle, J Kiryluk, F Kislat, J Kläs, SR Klein, J-H Köhne, G Kohnen, H Kolanoski, L Köpke, C Kopper, S Kopper, DJ Koskinen, M Kowalski, M Krasberg, G Kroll, J Kunnen, N Kurahashi, T Kuwabara, M Labare, H Landsman, MJ Larson, R Lauer, M Lesiak-Bzdak, J Lünemann, J Madsen, R Maruyama, K Mase, HS Matis, F McNally, K Meagher, M Merck, P Mészáros, T Meures, S Miarecki, E Middell, N Milke, J Miller, L Mohrmann, T Montaruli, R Morse, R Nahnhauer, U Naumann, SC Nowicki, DR Nygren, A Obertacke, S Odrowski, A Olivas, M Olivo, A O'Murchadha, S Panknin, L Paul, JA Pepper, C Pérez de los Heros, D Pieloth, N Pirk, J Posselt, PB Price, GT Przybylski, L Rädel, K Rawlins, P Redl, E Resconi, W Rhode, M Ribordy, M Richman, B Riedel, JP Rodrigues, C Rott, T Ruhe, B Ruzybayev, D Ryckbosch, SM Saba, T Salameh, H-G Sander, M Santander, S Sarkar, K Schatto, M Scheel, F Scheriau, T Schmidt, M Schmitz, S Schoenen, S Schöneberg, L Schönherr, A Schönwald, A Schukraft, L Schulte, O Schulz, D Seckel, SH Seo, Y Sestayo, S Seunarine, C Sheremata, MWE Smith, M Soiron, D Soldin, GM Spiczak, C Spiering, M Stamatikos, T Stanev, A Stasik, T Stezelberger, RG Stokstad, A Stöß, EA Strahler, R Ström, GW Sullivan, H Taavola, I Taboada, A Tamburro, S Ter-Antonyan, S Tilav, PA Toale, S Toscano, M Usner, D van der Drift, N van Eijndhoven, A Van Overloop, J van Santen, M Vehring, M Voge1, M Vraeghe, C Walck, T Waldenmaier, M Wallraff, M Walter, R Wasserman, Ch Weaver, C Wendt, S Westerhoff, N Whitehorn, K Wiebe, CH Wiebusch, DR Williams, H Wissing, M Wolf, TR Wood, K Woschnagg, C Xu, DL Xu, XW Xu, JP Yanez, G Yodh, S Yoshida, P Zarzhitsky, J Ziemann, S Zierke, A Zilles, M Zoll
Abstract:
Gamma-ray induced air showers are notable for their lack of muons, compared
to hadronic showers. Hence, air shower arrays with large underground muon
detectors can select a sample greatly enriched in photon showers by rejecting
showers containing muons. IceCube is sensitive to muons with energies above
~500 GeV at the surface, which provides an efficient veto system for hadronic
air showers with energies above 1 PeV. One year of data from the 40-string
IceCube configuration was used to perform a search for point sources and a
Galactic diffuse signal. No sources were found, resulting in a 90% C.L. upper
limit on the ratio of gamma rays to cosmic rays of 1.2 x 10^(-3)for the flux
coming from the Galactic Plane region (-80 deg < l < -30 deg; -10 deg < b < 5
deg) in the energy range 1.2 - 6.0 PeV. In the same energy range, point source
fluxes with E^(-2) spectra have been excluded at a level of (E/TeV)^2 d\Phi/dE
~ 10^(-12)-10^(-11) cm^2/s/TeV depending on source declination. The complete
IceCube detector will have a better sensitivity, due to the larger detector
size, improved reconstruction and vetoing techniques. Preliminary data from the
nearly-final IceCube detector configuration has been used to estimate the 5
year sensitivity of the full detector. It is found to be more than an order of
magnitude better, allowing the search for PeV extensions of known TeV gamma-ray
emitters.
