Icecube, the World's Largest Dark Matter Detector

Abstract

IceCube is a kilometer scale high-energy neutrino observatory, currently under construction at the South Pole. It is a photo-detector, using the deep Antarctic ice as detection medium for the Cherenkov photons induced by relativistic charged particles. These charged particles may be atmospheric muons or reaction products from neutrino interactions in the vicinity of the instrumented volume. The experiment searches for neutrinos originating in astrophysical sources, and can also detect neutrinos from WIMP interaction in the Sun or Earth. In the last two austral summers, 9 in-ice strings and 16 surface IceTop stations (out of up to 80 planned) were successfully deployed, and the detector has been taking data ever since. In this proceedings, IceCube design, present status, performance and dark matter detection sensitivities will be discussed.