Surface detectors for IceCube-Gen2

The IceCube-Gen2 Neutrino Observatory will feature an in-ice optical array, a larger in-ice radio detector array, and a surface cosmic-ray air-shower array. The surface array will consist of stations based on the experience from the planned IceTop enhancement, each station having four pairs of scintillator panels, three radio antennas and a central hub hosting electronics for data readout and time digitization. In the currently proposed implementation, a surface station will be located in the proximity of each of the 120 in-ice optical strings. Together with the in-ice optical array, the designed array will help to test hadronic interaction models and will extend IceTop's measurement of the energy spectrum and mass composition beyond 10 PeV. The array will also serve as a background veto for down-going candidate neutrino events. In addition, the surface stations will be fundamental to characterize the atmospheric component of the in-ice spectrum (i.e. atmospheric neutrinos and muons) and may serve as a cross calibration tool for the in-ice radio array. In this presentation the physics motivations for the surface array, and the proposed implementation plan will be reviewed. (paper)