Münster 2017 – scientific programme

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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik

T 36: Kosmische Strahlung 3

T 36.3: Talk

Tuesday, March 28, 2017, 11:35–11:50, H 3

Studying the cosmic-ray shadows of the Sun and the Moon with the IceCube neutrino telescope — •Fabian Bos, Frederik Tenholt, and Julia Becker Tjus for the IceCube collaboration — Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Cosmic rays are energetic charged particles from outer space that continuously impinge on Earth from all directions. As cosmic rays are blocked by the Sun and the Moon, a deficit in the number of cosmic rays is observed at Earth from the direction of these celestial bodies. The study of these cosmic-ray shadows has been traditionally used to characterize the angular resolution and absolute pointing of cosmic-ray detectors. We report on a significant variation of the Sun shadow during a five-year observation with the IceCube neutrino telescope, located at the South Pole. A dependence of the Sun shadow on solar activity is expected as particles propagating in the Sun's vicinity are influenced by its magnetic field. This opens the possibility for future analyses to probe different coronal magnetic field models. This project is BMBF-supported (FKZ: 05A14PC1).