Speaker
Nathaniel Alden
(University of Chicago)
Description
In-ice radio detectors have been developed primarily for the detection of high-energy neutrinos via the Askaryan effect, but have recently been shown to be sensitive to cosmic ray air showers impacting the ice sheet. In this talk, we show how the Askaryan signal from cosmic rays could be used to measure the cosmic ray energy spectrum and mass composition above $10^{17}$eV. If experimentally feasible, this measurement would provide an ancillary science case for IceCube-Gen2 radio while increasing our understanding of the cosmic ray background to neutrinos. We also speculate that joint observations of cosmic ray air showers by IceTop and IceCube-Gen2 radio could help to constrain models of high-energy hadronic interactions.
Author
Nathaniel Alden
(University of Chicago)
Co-authors
Abigail Vieregg
(University of Chicago)
Cosmin Deaconu
(University of Chicago)
Marissa Boucher
(University of Chicago)
Philipp Windischhofer
(DESY)