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The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is a cubic kilometer neutrino detector located at the geographic South Pole designed to detect high-energy astrophysical neutrinos. To thoroughly understand the detected neutrinos and their properties, the detector response to signal and background has to be modeled using Monte Carlo techniques. An integral part of these studies are the optical properties of the ice the observatory is built into. The simulated propagation of individual photons from particles produced by neutrino interactions in the ice can be greatly accelerated using graphics processing units (GPUs). In this paper, we (a collaboration between NVIDIA and IceCube) reduced the propagation time per photon by a factor of up to 3 on the same GPU. We achieved this by porting the OpenCL parts of the program to CUDA and optimizing the performance. This involved careful analysis and multiple changes to the algorithm. We also ported the code to NVIDIA OptiX to handle the collision detection. The hand-tuned CUDA algorithm turned out to be faster than OptiX. It exploits detector geometry and only a small fraction of photons ever travel close to one of the detectors.

 

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole has measured the diffuse astrophysical neutrino flux up to ~PeV energies and is starting to identify first point source candidates. The next generation facility, IceCube-Gen2, aims at extending the accessible energy range to EeV in order to measure the continuation of the astrophysical spectrum, to identify neutrino sources, and to search for a cosmogenic neutrino flux. As part of IceCube-Gen2, a radio array is foreseen that is sensitive to detect Askaryan emission of neutrinos beyond ~30 PeV. Surface and deep antenna stations have different benefits in terms of effective area, resolution, and the capability to reject backgrounds from cosmic-ray air showers and may be combined to reach the best sensitivity. The optimal detector configuration is still to be identified. This contribution presents the full-array simulation efforts for a combination of deep and surface antennas, and compares different design options with respect to their sensitivity to fulfill the science goals of IceCube-Gen2. 

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory opened the window on high-energy neutrino astronomy by confirming the existence of PeV astrophysical neutrinos and identifying the first compelling astrophysical neutrino source in the blazar TXS0506+056. Planning is underway to build an enlarged detector, IceCube-Gen2, which will extend measurements to higher energies, increase the rate of observed cosmic neutrinos and provide improved prospects for detecting fainter sources. IceCube-Gen2 is planned to have an extended in-ice optical array, a radio array at shallower depths for detecting ultra-high-energy (>100 PeV) neutrinos, and a surface component studying cosmic rays. In this contribution, we will discuss the simulation of the in-ice optical component of the baseline design of the IceCube-Gen2 detector, which foresees the deployment of an additional ~120 new detection strings to the existing 86 in IceCube over ~7 Antarctic summer seasons. Motivated by the phased construction plan for IceCube-Gen2, we discuss how the reconstruction capabilities and sensitivities of the instrument are expected to progress throughout its deployment.