{"id":22926,"date":"2021-02-12T15:29:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-12T14:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms.zdv.uni-mainz.de\/fb08-prisma\/2021\/02\/12\/woran-forschen-sie-gerade-dr-martin-rongen\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T10:08:03","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T09:08:03","slug":"woran-forschen-sie-gerade-dr-martin-rongen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prisma.uni-mainz.de\/en\/2021\/02\/12\/woran-forschen-sie-gerade-dr-martin-rongen\/","title":{"rendered":"What are you currently researching? Dr. Martin Rongen"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/jgu-base-pageheader>\n
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\u201cWith the IceCube experiment at the South Pole, we use one cubic kilometer of glacial ice to detect signals from neutrinos originating from the depths of space. When one of these neutrinos strikes an ice molecule, the resulting particles emit a distinctive bluish light as they travel through the ice. 5,160 light sensors, encased in glass spheres on long cables reaching up to 2.45 kilometers deep into the ice, capture this Cherenkov light.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To correctly evaluate the measured signals, we must calibrate the sensors and the ice, which serves as the detection medium, as precisely as possible. Crucially, we must also simulate how the Cherenkov light propagates. Nowadays, this requires us to account not only for impurities in the ice but also for its microstructure as a birefringent polycrystal, and consequently, the refractions that occur at each transition between two crystals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We use LEDs as a defined light source; these are located together with the light sensors in a glass sphere. Their defined light pulses are registered by the sensors in other spheres. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are currently working on expanding our neutrino telescope: The IceCube Upgrade aims to deploy 700 new detector components into the ice and further enhance calibration methods, for instance, by using new LED flashers. Each flasher is a small circuit board equipped with everything necessary to make a single LED illuminate precisely for a few nanoseconds. The ingenious part is that we not only design these flashers but also test and produce them in large quantities at the PRISMA Detector Laboratory. The 2020 dress rehearsal, involving 220 flashers, was highly successful. We are now poised to begin production of 4,500 flashers in 2021. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pre-integrated detector components with \u201cour\u201d flashers are expected to be installed in seven new boreholes in 2022\/23. Being present on-site in Antarctica is a very formative experience, one that I have already had the privilege of experiencing twice. It’s no coincidence that the term \u201cIce fever\u201d is circulating among expedition participants.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Martin Rongen is a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Dr. Sebastian B\u00f6ser’s group and works on the IceCube experiment. Being present on-site in Antarctica is a very formative experience for him, one he has already had the privilege of experiencing twice. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWith the IceCube experiment at the South Pole, we use one cubic kilometer of glacial ice to detect signals from neutrinos originating from the depths of space. When one of these neutrinos strikes an ice molecule, the resulting particles emit a distinctive bluish light as they travel through the ice. 5,160 light sensors, encased in … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":554,"featured_media":14452,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[124],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en"],"primary_category":{"id":124,"name":"News","slug":"news-en","parent":0,"breadcrumb":"News"},"media":{},"image":{"url":"https:\/\/cms.zdv.uni-mainz.de\/fb08-prisma\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/255\/2025\/09\/Martin_Rongen_2020.jpg","credit":""},"index":"12.02.2021","assigned_date":"","external_link":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prisma.uni-mainz.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prisma.uni-mainz.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prisma.uni-mainz.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prisma.uni-mainz.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/554"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prisma.uni-mainz.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22926"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/prisma.uni-mainz.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22926\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29052,"href":"https:\/\/prisma.uni-mainz.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22926\/revisions\/29052"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prisma.uni-mainz.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prisma.uni-mainz.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prisma.uni-mainz.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prisma.uni-mainz.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}