IceCube

IceCube Neutrino Observatory is a neutrino detector at the South Pole designed to observe high-energy neutrinos from cosmic sources. The observatory is buried in the Antarctic ice and instrumented with 5,160 digital optical modules on 86 strings, embedded between 1,450 and 2,450 meters below the surface to cover a cubic kilometer of ice.

Detection method: When neutrinos interact with ice, they produce charged particles that emit Cherenkov light. The DOMs detect this light, and the recorded patterns are used to reconstruct the energy and direction of the original neutrino. Muon neutrinos create long tracks; electron and tau neutrinos produce cascades, with different angular resolutions.

History: Construction began in the mid-2000s, with completion and first data taking around 2010–2011. IceCube followed the earlier AMANDA detector and includes the DeepCore subarray for lower-energy events, enhancing sensitivity to neutrinos from a broader energy range.

Key results: In 2013 IceCube announced the first observation of a diffuse flux of astrophysical high-energy neutrinos, marking the start of neutrino astronomy. In 2017, IceCube and partner observatories associated a high-energy event IC-170922A with a gamma-ray flare from the blazar TXS 0506+056, suggesting a cosmic source. IceCube also constrains atmospheric neutrinos and contributes to dark matter searches.

Gen2 expansion: A future IceCube Gen2 upgrade aims to enlarge the instrumented volume to about ten cubic kilometers, improve the angular and energy resolution, and extend sensitivity with additional radio and surface detection components to broaden science reach.

Impact: IceCube is one of the largest neutrino detectors in operation, enabling multi-messenger astronomy and international collaboration across physics and astronomy communities.