Characteristics of the diffuse astrophysical electron and Tau neutrino flux with six years of IceCube high energy cascade data

6533b83afe1ef96bd12a7193

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Characteristics of the diffuse astrophysical electron and Tau neutrino flux with six years of IceCube high energy cascade data

M. G. Aartsen M. Ackermann G. Anton A. Goldschmidt J. G. Gonzalez D. Grant T. Grégoire Z. Griffith S. Griswold M. Günder M. Gündüz C. Haack A. Hallgren C. Argüelles R. Halliday L. Halve F. Halzen K. Hanson A. Haungs D. Hebecker D. Heereman P. Heix K. Helbing R. Hellauer J. Auffenberg F. Henningsen S. Hickford J. Hignight G. C. Hill K. D. Hoffman R. Hoffmann T. Hoinka B. Hokanson-fasig K. Hoshina F. Huang S. Axani M. Huber T. Huber K. Hultqvist M. Hünnefeld R. Hussain S. In N. Iovine A. Ishihara M. Jansson G. S. Japaridze P. Backes M. Jeong K. Jero B. J. P. Jones F. Jonske R. Joppe D. Kang W. Kang A. Kappes D. Kappesser T. Karg H. Bagherpour M. Karl A. Karle U. Katz M. Kauer J. L. Kelley A. Kheirandish J. Kim T. Kintscher J. Kiryluk T. Kittler X. Bai S. R. Klein R. Koirala H. Kolanoski L. Köpke C. Kopper S. Kopper D. J. Koskinen M. Kowalski K. Krings G. Krückl A. Balagopal N. Kulacz N. Kurahashi A. Kyriacou J. L. Lanfranchi M. J. Larson F. Lauber J. P. Lazar K. Leonard M. Lesiak-bzdak A. Leszczyńska A. Barbano M. Leuermann Q. R. Liu E. Lohfink C. J. Lozano Mariscal L. Lu F. Lucarelli J. Lünemann W. Luszczak Y. Lyu W. Y. Ma S. W. Barwick J. Madsen G. Maggi K. B. M. Mahn Y. Makino P. Mallik K. Mallot S. Mancina I. C. Mariş R. Maruyama K. Mase J. Adams B. Bastian R. Maunu F. Mcnally K. Meagher M. Medici A. Medina M. Meier S. Meighen-berger G. Merino T. Meures J. Micallef V. Baum D. Mockler G. Momenté T. Montaruli R. W. Moore R. Morse M. Moulai P. Muth R. Nagai U. Naumann G. Neer S. Baur H. Niederhausen M. U. Nisa S. C. Nowicki D. R. Nygren A. Obertacke Pollmann M. Oehler A. Olivas A. O'murchadha E. O'sullivan T. Palczewski R. Bay H. Pandya D. V. Pankova N. Park P. Peiffer C. Pérez De Los Heros S. Philippen D. Pieloth S. Pieper E. Pinat A. Pizzuto J. J. Beatty M. Plum A. Porcelli P. B. Price G. T. Przybylski C. Raab A. Raissi M. Rameez L. Rauch K. Rawlins I. C. Rea K.-h. Becker A. Rehman R. Reimann B. Relethford M. Renschler G. Renzi E. Resconi W. Rhode M. Richman S. Robertson M. Rongen J. Becker Tjus C. Rott T. Ruhe D. Ryckbosch D. Rysewyk I. Safa S. E. Sanchez Herrera A. Sandrock J. Sandroos M. Santander S. Sarkar S. Benzvi S. Sarkar K. Satalecka M. Schaufel H. Schieler P. Schlunder T. Schmidt A. Schneider J. Schneider F. G. Schröder L. Schumacher D. Berley S. Sclafani D. Seckel S. Seunarine S. Shefali M. Silva R. Snihur J. Soedingrekso D. Soldin M. Song G. M. Spiczak E. Bernardini C. Spiering J. Stachurska M. Stamatikos T. Stanev Robert Stein J. Stettner A. Steuer T. Stezelberger R. G. Stokstad A. Stößl J. A. Aguilar D. Z. Besson Nora Linn Strotjohann T. Stürwald T. Stuttard G. W. Sullivan I. Taboada F. Tenholt S. Ter-antonyan Andrii Terliuk S. Tilav K. Tollefson G. Binder L. Tomankova C. Tönnis S. Toscano D. Tosi A. Trettin M. Tselengidou C. F. Tung A. Turcati R. Turcotte C. F. Turley D. Bindig B. Ty E. Unger M. A. Unland Elorrieta Marcel Usner J. Vandenbroucke W. Van Driessche D. Van Eijk N. Van Eijndhoven Jakob Van Santen S. Verpoest E. Blaufuss M. Vraeghe C. Walck A. Wallace M. Wallraff N. Wandkowsky T. B. Watson C. Weaver A. Weindl M. J. Weiss J. Weldert S. Blot C. Wendt J. Werthebach B. J. Whelan N. Whitehorn K. Wiebe C. H. Wiebusch L. Wille D. R. Williams L. Wills M. Wolf C. Bohm J. Wood T. R. Wood K. Woschnagg G. Wrede D. L. Xu X. W. Xu Y. Xu J. P. Yanez G. Yodh S. Yoshida S. Böser T. Yuan M. Zöcklein Icecube Collaboration O. Botner J. Böttcher E. Bourbeau M. Ahlers J. Bourbeau F. Bradascio J. Braun S. Bron J. Brostean-kaiser A. Burgman J. Buscher R. S. Busse T. Carver C. Chen M. Ahrens E. Cheung D. Chirkin S. Choi K. Clark L. Classen A. Coleman G. H. Collin J. M. Conrad P. Coppin P. Correa C. Alispach D. F. Cowen R. Cross P. Dave C. De Clercq J. J. Delaunay H. Dembinski K. Deoskar S. De Ridder P. Desiati K. D. De Vries K. Andeen G. De Wasseige M. De With T. Deyoung A. Diaz J. C. Díaz-vélez H. Dujmovic M. Dunkman E. Dvorak B. Eberhardt T. Ehrhardt T. Anderson P. Eller R. Engel P. A. Evenson S. Fahey A. R. Fazely J. Felde K. Filimonov C. Finley D. Fox Anna Franckowiak I. Ansseau E. Friedman A. Fritz T. K. Gaisser J. Gallagher E. Ganster S. Garrappa L. Gerhardt K. Ghorbani T. Glauch T. Glüsenkamp

subject

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO)Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena FOS: Physical sciences General Physics and Astronomy Electron power spectrum flux [electron]energy [particle]01 natural sciences IceCube Nuclear physics 5/3 Tau neutrino muon 0103 physical sciences low [energy]Muon neutrino ddc:530 010303 astronomy & astrophysics astro-ph.HE High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE)Physics SPECTRUM Spectral index Muon 010308 nuclear & particles physics High Energy Physics::Phenomenology flavor [neutrino]RAYS flux [neutrino]acceleration showers oscillation Physics and Astronomy 13. Climate action Energy cascade Physique des particules élémentaires astro-ph.CO high [energy]cascade [energy]High Energy Physics::Experiment Neutrino Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

description

We report on the first measurement of the astrophysical neutrino flux using particle showers (cascades) in IceCube data from 2010-2015. Assuming standard oscillations, the astrophysical neutrinos in this dedicated cascade sample are dominated (∼90%) by electron and tau flavors. The flux, observed in the sensitive energy range from 16 TeV to 2.6 PeV, is consistent with a single power-law model as expected from Fermi-type acceleration of high energy particles at astrophysical sources. We find the flux spectral index to be γ=2.53±0.07 and a flux normalization for each neutrino flavor of φastro=1.66-0.27+0.25 at E0=100 TeV, in agreement with IceCube's complementary muon neutrino results and with all-neutrino flavor fit results. In the measured energy range we reject spectral indices γ≤2.28 at ≥3σ significance level. Because of high neutrino energy resolution and low atmospheric neutrino backgrounds, this analysis provides the most detailed characterization of the neutrino flux at energies below ∼100 TeV compared to previous IceCube results. Results from fits assuming more complex neutrino flux models suggest a flux softening at high energies and a flux hardening at low energies (p value ≥0.06). The sizable and smooth flux measured below ∼100 TeV remains a puzzle. In order to not violate the isotropic diffuse gamma-ray background as measured by the Fermi Large Area Telescope, it suggests the existence of astrophysical neutrino sources characterized by dense environments which are opaque to gamma rays.

year	journal	country	edition	language
2020-01-26

10.1103/physrevlett.125.121104 http://hdl.handle.net/11577/3361757