Speaker
Description
A precise understanding of the optical properties of the instrumented Antarctic ice sheet is crucial to the performance of optical Cherenkov telescopes such as the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and its planned successor, IceCube-Gen2.
One complication arising from the large envisioned footprint of IceCube-Gen2 is the larger impact of the so-called ice tilt, which describes the undulation of layers of constant optical properties as a function of depth and transverse position in the detector.
Within IceCube tilt modeling has originally been based on stratigraphy measurements performed by a stand-alone laser dust logger. More recently, it has been independently be deduced using calibration data from LEDs located in the photosensor modules.
In this talk, I will summarize the ice optical modeling with an emphasis on tilt and describe a newly started project to replace the stand-alone dust logger with a light source that can be co-deployed with the photosensor modules and operated during the deployment of the detector. The newly developed device is planned to be tested during the deployment of the IceCube Upgrade in 2025/26, so to ensure success during IceCube-Gen2.
