https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-021-09809-y
Regular Article - Experimental Physics
Sensitivity of multi-PMT optical modules in Antarctic ice to supernova neutrinos of MeV energy
Institut für Kernphysik, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Wilhelm-Klemm-Straße 9, 48149, Münster, Germany
Received:
29
June
2021
Accepted:
5
November
2021
Published online:
1
December
2021
New optical sensors with a segmented photosensitive area are being developed for the next generation of neutrino telescopes at the South Pole. In addition to increasing sensitivity to high-energy astrophysical neutrinos, we show that this will also lead to a significant improvement in sensitivity to MeV neutrinos, such as those produced in core-collapse supernovae (CCSN). These low-energy neutrinos can provide a detailed picture of the events after stellar core collapse, testing our understanding of these violent explosions. We present studies on the event-based detection of MeV neutrinos with a segmented sensor and, for the first time, the potential of a corresponding detector in the deep ice at the South Pole for the detection of extra-galactic CCSN. We find that exploiting temporal coincidences between signals in different photocathode segments, a 
progenitor mass CCSN can be detected up to a distance of 341 kpc with a false detection rate of 
with a detector consisting of 10,000 sensors. Increasing the number of sensors to 20,000 and reducing the optical background by a factor of 70 expands the range such that a CCSN detection rate of 0.1 per year is achieved, while keeping the false detection rate at 
.
An erratum to this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-022-10602-8.
© The Author(s) 2021
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