Search for Galactic PeV Gamma Rays with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory
Creators: name: IceCube Collaboration
name: Aartsen, M. G.
name: Abbasi, R.
name: Abdou, Y.
name: Ackermann, M.
name: Adams, J.
name: Aguilar, J. A.
name: Ahlers, M.
name: Altmann, D.
name: Andeen, K.
name: Auffenberg, J.
name: Bai, X.
name: Baker, M.
name: Barwick, S. W.
name: Baum, V.
name: Bay, R.
name: Beattie, K.
name: Beatty, J. J.
name: Bechet, S.
name: Tjus, J. Becker
name: Becker, K. -H.
name: Bell, M.
name: Benabderrahmane, M. L.
name: BenZvi, S.
name: Berdermann, J.
name: Berghaus, P.
name: Berley, D.
name: Bernardini, E.
name: Bertrand, D.
name: Besson, D. Z.
name: Bindig, D.
name: Bissok, M.
name: Blaufuss, E.
name: Blumenthal, J.
name: Boersma, D. J.
name: Bohaichuk, S.
name: Bohm, C.
name: Bose1, D.
name: Böser, S.
name: Botner, O.
name: Brayeur, L.
name: Brown, A. M.
name: Bruijn, R.
name: Brunner, J.
name: Buitink, S.
name: Carson, M.
name: Casey, J.
name: Casier, M.
name: Chirkin, D.
name: Christy, B.
name: Clark, K.
name: Clevermann, F.
name: Cohen, S.
name: Cowen, D. F.
name: Silva, A. H. Cruz
name: Danninger, M.
name: Daughhetee, J.
name: Davis, J. C.
name: De Clercq, C.
name: De Ridder, S.
name: Descamps, F.
name: Desiati, P.
name: de Vries-Uiterweerd, G.
name: DeYoung, T.
name: Díaz-Vélez, J. C.
name: Dreyer, J.
name: Dumm, J. P.
name: Dunkman, M.
name: Eagan, R.
name: Eberhardt, B.
name: Eisch, J.
name: Ellsworth, R. W.
name: Engdegård, O.
name: Euler, S.
name: Evenson, P. A.
name: Fadiran, O.
name: Fazely, A. R.
name: Fedynitch, A.
name: Feintzeig, J.
name: Feusels, T.
name: Filimonov, K.
name: Finley, C.
name: Fischer-Wasels, T.
name: Flis, S.
name: Franckowiak, A.
name: Franke, R.
name: Frantzen, K.
name: Fuchs, T.
name: Gaisser, T. K.
name: Gallagher, J.
name: Gerhardt, L.
name: Gladstone, L.
name: Glüsenkamp, T.
name: Goldschmidt, A.
name: Golup, G.
name: Goodman, J. A.
name: Góra, D.
name: Grant, D.
name: Groß, A.
name: Grullon, S.
name: Gurtner, M.
name: Ha, C.
name: Ismail, A. Haj
name: Hallgren, A.
name: Halzen, F.
name: Hanson, K.
name: Heereman, D.
name: Heimann, P.
name: Heinen, D.
name: Helbing, K.
name: Hellauer, R.
name: Hickford, S.
name: Hill, G. C.
name: Hoffman, K. D.
name: Hoffmann, R.
name: Homeier, A.
name: Hoshina, K.
name: Huelsnitz, W.
name: Hulth, P. O.
name: Hultqvist, K.
name: Hussain, S.
name: Ishihara, A.
name: Jacobi, E.
name: Jacobsen, J.
name: Japaridze, G. S.
name: Jlelati, O.
name: Kappes, A.
name: Karg, T.
name: Karle, A.
name: Kiryluk, J.
name: Kislat, F.
name: Kläs, J.
name: Klein, S. R.
name: Köhne, J. -H.
name: Kohnen, G.
name: Kolanoski, H.
name: Köpke, L.
name: Kopper, C.
name: Kopper, S.
name: Koskinen, D. J.
name: Kowalski, M.
name: Krasberg, M.
name: Kroll, G.
name: Kunnen, J.
name: Kurahashi, N.
name: Kuwabara, T.
name: Labare, M.
name: Landsman, H.
name: Larson, M. J.
name: Lauer, R.
name: Lesiak-Bzdak, M.
name: Lünemann, J.
name: Madsen, J.
name: Maruyama, R.
name: Mase, K.
name: Matis, H. S.
name: McNally, F.
name: Meagher, K.
name: Merck, M.
name: Mészáros, P.
name: Meures, T.
name: Miarecki, S.
name: Middell, E.
name: Milke, N.
name: Miller, J.
name: Mohrmann, L.
name: Montaruli, T.
name: Morse, R.
name: Nahnhauer, R.
name: Naumann, U.
name: Nowicki, S. C.
name: Nygren, D. R.
name: Obertacke, A.
name: Odrowski, S.
name: Olivas, A.
name: Olivo, M.
name: O'Murchadha, A.
name: Panknin, S.
name: Paul, L.
name: Pepper, J. A.
name: Heros, C. Pérez de los
name: Pieloth, D.
name: Pirk, N.
name: Posselt, J.
name: Price, P. B.
name: Przybylski, G. T.
name: Rädel, L.
name: Rawlins, K.
name: Redl, P.
name: Resconi, E.
name: Rhode, W.
name: Ribordy, M.
name: Richman, M.
name: Riedel, B.
name: Rodrigues, J. P.
name: Rott, C.
name: Ruhe, T.
name: Ruzybayev, B.
name: Ryckbosch, D.
name: Saba, S. M.
name: Salameh, T.
name: Sander, H. -G.
name: Santander, M.
name: Sarkar, S.
name: Schatto, K.
name: Scheel, M.
name: Scheriau, F.
name: Schmidt, T.
name: Schmitz, M.
name: Schoenen, S.
name: Schöneberg, S.
name: Schönherr, L.
name: Schönwald, A.
name: Schukraft, A.
name: Schulte, L.
name: Schulz, O.
name: Seckel, D.
name: Seo, S. H.
name: Sestayo, Y.
name: Seunarine, S.
name: Sheremata, C.
name: Smith, M. W. E.
name: Soiron, M.
name: Soldin, D.
name: Spiczak, G. M.
name: Spiering, C.
name: Stamatikos, M.
name: Stanev, T.
name: Stasik, A.
name: Stezelberger, T.
name: Stokstad, R. G.
name: Stöß, A.
name: Strahler, E. A.
name: Ström, R.
name: Sullivan, G. W.
name: Taavola, H.
name: Taboada, I.
name: Tamburro, A.
name: Ter-Antonyan, S.
name: Tilav, S.
name: Toale, P. A.
name: Toscano, S.
name: Usner, M.
name: van der Drift, D.
name: van Eijndhoven, N.
name: Van Overloop, A.
name: van Santen, J.
name: Vehring, M.
name: Voge1, M.
name: Vraeghe, M.
name: Walck, C.
name: Waldenmaier, T.
name: Wallraff, M.
name: Walter, M.
name: Wasserman, R.
name: Weaver, Ch.
name: Wendt, C.
name: Westerhoff, S.
name: Whitehorn, N.
name: Wiebe, K.
name: Wiebusch, C. H.
name: Williams, D. R.
name: Wissing, H.
name: Wolf, M.
name: Wood, T. R.
name: Woschnagg, K.
name: Xu, C.
name: Xu, D. L.
name: Xu, X. W.
name: Yanez, J. P.
name: Yodh, G.
name: Yoshida, S.
name: Zarzhitsky, P.
name: Ziemann, J.
name: Zierke, S.
name: Zilles, A.
name: Zoll, M.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: 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 &lt; l &lt; -30 deg; -10 deg &lt; b &lt; 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 dΦ/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.
description: submitted to PRD, 15 pages, 15 figures