Prospects for detecting quark star features with IceCube

Sammanfattning

Core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) provide a unique environment for studying matter under extreme densities and temperatures, where a phase transition from hadronic to deconfined quark matter may occur. Such a transition is predicted to trigger a characteristic burst of electron antineutrinos, offering a potential observational signature of quark matter deconfinement. This thesis investigates the detectability of these neutrino bursts with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. Using simulations from GR1D and Sedonu, two supernova scenarios were modelled: one leading to delayed black hole formation, and another resulting in a stable quark star remnant. The detector response was simulated with ASTERIA across multiple configurations: the current IceCube and its next-generation successor, the IceCube Gen-2 array. Statistical analyses were performed to assess the significance of detecting a phase transition feature, relative to a supernova that does not exhibit this behaviour. The results of the study demonstrate that IceCube has the sensitivity to detect phase-transition-induced neutrino bursts from galactic and nearby extragalactic supernovae. In addition, we find that IceCube Gen-2 would enable the detection of weaker phase transition signals, significantly expanding the detection horizon. This work highlights the critical role of next-generation neutrino observatories in testing QCD phase transition models and exploring the nature of dense matter in astrophysical settings.