2,140 research outputs found

    Neutrinos below 100 TeV from the southern sky employing refined veto techniques to IceCube data

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    Many Galactic sources of gamma rays, such as supernova remnants, are expected to produce neutrinos with a typical energy cutoff well below 100 TeV. For the IceCube Neutrino Observatory located at the South Pole, the southern sky, containing the inner part of the Galactic plane and the Galactic Center, is a particularly challenging region at these energies, because of the large background of atmospheric muons. In this paper, we present recent advancements in data selection strategies for track-like muon neutrino events with energies below 100 TeV from the southern sky. The strategies utilize the outer detector regions as veto and features of the signal pattern to reduce the background of atmospheric muons to a level which, for the first time, allows IceCube searching for point-like sources of neutrinos in the southern sky at energies between 100 GeV and several TeV in the muon neutrino charged current channel. No significant clustering of neutrinos above background expectation was observed in four years of data recorded with the completed IceCube detector. Upper limits on the neutrino flux for a number of spectral hypotheses are reported for a list of astrophysical objects in the southern hemisphere.Comment: 19 pages, 17 figures, 2 table

    Search for a diffuse flux of astrophysical muon neutrinos with the IceCube 59-string configuration

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    A search for high-energy neutrinos was performed using data collected by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory from May 2009 to May 2010, when the array was running in its 59-string configuration. The data sample was optimized to contain muon neutrino induced events with a background contamination of atmospheric muons of less than 1%. These data, which are dominated by atmospheric neutrinos, are analyzed with a global likelihood fit to search for possible contributions of prompt atmospheric and astrophysical neutrinos, neither of which have yet been identified. Such signals are expected to follow a harder energy spectrum than conventional atmospheric neutrinos. In addition, the zenith angle distribution differs for astrophysical and atmospheric signals. A global fit of the reconstructed energies and directions of observed events is performed, including possible neutrino flux contributions for an astrophysical signal and atmospheric backgrounds as well as systematic uncertainties of the experiment and theoretical predictions. The best fit yields an astrophysical signal flux for nu(mu) + (nu) over bar (mu) of E-2. Phi(E) = 0.25 x 10(-8) GeV cm(-2) s(-1) sr(-1), and a zero prompt component. Although the sensitivity of this analysis for astrophysical neutrinos surpasses the Waxman and Bahcall upper bound, the experimental limit at 90% confidence level is a factor of 1.5 above at a flux of E-2 . Phi(E) = 1.44 x 10(-8) GeV cm(-2) s(-1) sr(-1)

    Determining neutrino oscillation parameters from atmospheric muon neutrino disappearance with three years of IceCube DeepCore data

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    We present a measurement of neutrino oscillations via atmospheric muon neutrino disappearance with three years of data of the completed IceCube neutrino detector. DeepCore, a region of denser instrumentation, enables the detection and reconstruction of atmospheric muon neutrinos between 10 GeV and 100 GeV, where a strong disappearance signal is expected. The detector volume surrounding DeepCore is used as a veto region to suppress the atmospheric muon background. Neutrino events are selected where the detected Cherenkov photons of the secondary particles minimally scatter, and the neutrino energy and arrival direction are reconstructed. Both variables are used to obtain the neutrino oscillation parameters from the data, with the best fit given by Δm322=2.720.20+0.19×103eV2\Delta m^2_{32}=2.72^{+0.19}_{-0.20}\times 10^{-3}\,\mathrm{eV}^2 and sin2θ23=0.530.12+0.09\sin^2\theta_{23} = 0.53^{+0.09}_{-0.12} (normal mass hierarchy assumed). The results are compatible and comparable in precision to those of dedicated oscillation experiments.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

    Determining neutrino oscillation parameters from atmospheric muon neutrino disappearance with three years of IceCube DeepCore data

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    We present a measurement of neutrino oscillations via atmospheric muon neutrino disappearance with three years of data of the completed IceCube neutrino detector. DeepCore, a region of denser instrumentation, enables the detection and reconstruction of atmospheric muon neutrinos between 10 GeV and 100 GeV, where a strong disappearance signal is expected. The detector volume surrounding DeepCore is used as a veto region to suppress the atmospheric muon background. Neutrino events are selected where the detected Cherenkov photons of the secondary particles minimally scatter, and the neutrino energy and arrival direction are reconstructed. Both variables are used to obtain the neutrino oscillation parameters from the data, with the best fit given by Δm322=2.720.20+0.19×103eV2\Delta m^2_{32}=2.72^{+0.19}_{-0.20}\times 10^{-3}\,\mathrm{eV}^2 and sin2θ23=0.530.12+0.09\sin^2\theta_{23} = 0.53^{+0.09}_{-0.12} (normal mass hierarchy assumed). The results are compatible and comparable in precision to those of dedicated oscillation experiments.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

    Flavor Ratio of Astrophysical Neutrinos above 35 TeV in IceCube

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    A diffuse flux of astrophysical neutrinos above 100TeV100\,\mathrm{TeV} has been observed at the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. Here we extend this analysis to probe the astrophysical flux down to 35TeV35\,\mathrm{TeV} and analyze its flavor composition by classifying events as showers or tracks. Taking advantage of lower atmospheric backgrounds for shower-like events, we obtain a shower-biased sample containing 129 showers and 8 tracks collected in three years from 2010 to 2013. We demonstrate consistency with the (fe:fμ:fτ)(1:1:1)(f_e:f_{\mu}:f_\tau)_\oplus\approx(1:1:1)_\oplus flavor ratio at Earth commonly expected from the averaged oscillations of neutrinos produced by pion decay in distant astrophysical sources. Limits are placed on non-standard flavor compositions that cannot be produced by averaged neutrino oscillations but could arise in exotic physics scenarios. A maximally track-like composition of (0:1:0)(0:1:0)_\oplus is excluded at 3.3σ3.3\sigma, and a purely shower-like composition of (1:0:0)(1:0:0)_\oplus is excluded at 2.3σ2.3\sigma.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to PR

    Measurement of the B+ --> p pbar K+ Branching Fraction and Study of the Decay Dynamics

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    With a sample of 232x10^6 Upsilon(4S) --> BBbar events collected with the BaBar detector, we study the decay B+ --> p pbar K+ excluding charmonium decays to ppbar. We measure a branching fraction Br(B+ --> p pbar K+)=(6.7+/-0.5+/-0.4)x10^{-6}. An enhancement at low ppbar mass is observed and the Dalitz plot asymmetry suggests dominance of the penguin amplitude in this B decay. We search for a pentaquark candidate Theta*++ decaying into pK+ in the mass range 1.43 to 2.00 GeV/c2 and set limits on Br(B+ --> Theta*++pbar)xBr(Theta*++ --> pK+) at the 10^{-7} level.Comment: 8 pages, 7 postscript figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. D (Rapid Communications
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