Improved Cherenkov light propagation methods for the IceCube neutrino telescope

In neutrino astronomy, glacial ice or deep ocean water are used as detector media. Typically, neutrinos are recognized by distinguishing charged particles generated in neutrino interactions from atmospheric muons, using in situ detectors recording time distributions and fluxes of faint photon fields of Cherenkov radiation. The IceCube collaboration has developed an empirical model describing the optical and near UV properties of glacial ice at depths between 1300 and 2300 meters and wavelengths from 300 to 600 nm. A new software package (Photonics) was developed to implement such heterogeneous media descriptions into simulation and reconstruction of charged particle tracks. Photonics has also been used to simulate propagation of light in ocean water giving results which reproduce measurements by the Antares collaboration.