Speaker
Description
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is a cubic-kilometer detector located at the South Pole that utilizes the deep Antarctic ice as a medium for neutrino interactions. The baseline array consists of 5,160 Digital Optical Modules (DOMs) designed to detect Cherenkov radiation. The IceCube Upgrade has integrated six additional, densely instrumented strings featuring over 500 next-generation optical modules, equipped with dedicated camera and LED systems to enhance detector calibration and better characterize the properties of the glacial ice. Utilizing IceCube data, an ongoing analysis targets the search for the solar atmospheric neutrino flux. This flux originates from cosmic-ray interactions within the solar atmosphere, which generate yielding pions and kaons that subsequently decay into neutrinos and gamma rays. While an excess of high-energy gamma rays from the Sun has already been established, observing the corresponding neutrino flux remains highly probable. Characterizing this solar atmospheric neutrino flux is crucial, as it serves as both a novel astrophysical signal and an irreducible background for solar dark matter searches.