A Two Component Lateral Distribution Function for the Reconstruction of Air-Shower Events with IceCube

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory, located at the geographic South Pole, consists of a surface detector comprised of ice-Cherenkov tanks, IceTop, and an optical in-ice array. With this combination, IceCube provides the unique possibility to perform coincident measurements of the low-energy (∼ GeV) and high-energy ( 400 GeV) muon component in cosmic-ray air shower events. Since IceTop does not feature dedicated muon detectors, an estimation of the GeV muon component on basis of individual air showers is challenging. However, an event-by-event GeV muon estimator can constitute a useful tool for, amongst others, cosmic ray composition analyses and, in combination with the TeV muon component, strongly constrain hadronic interaction models. One possibility for an event-by-event estimation of low-energy muons is given by the Two Component Lateral Distribution Function (Two Component LDF), combining an analytical description for the electromagnetic and muon lateral distribution of the full detector signal. In this talk, I will discuss the main principle of the Two Component LDF and present first results of the reconstruction of simulated air-shower events.