714 research outputs found
The search for transient astrophysical neutrino emission with IceCube-DeepCore
We present the results of a search for astrophysical sources of brief transient neutrino emission using IceCube and DeepCore data acquired between 2012 May 15 and 2013 April 30. While the search methods employed in this analysis are similar to those used in previous IceCube point source searches, the data set being examined consists of a sample of predominantly sub-TeV muon-neutrinos from the Northern Sky (-5 degrees < delta < 90 degrees) obtained through a novel event selection method. This search represents a first attempt by IceCube to identify astrophysical neutrino sources in this relatively unexplored energy range. The reconstructed direction and time of arrival of neutrino events are used to search for any significant self-correlation in the data set. The data revealed no significant source of transient neutrino emission. This result has been used to construct limits at timescales ranging from roughly 1 s to 10 days for generic soft-spectra transients. We also present limits on a specific model of neutrino emission from soft jets in core-collapse supernovae
Search for non-relativistic Magnetic Monopoles with IceCube
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is a large Cherenkov detector instrumenting
of Antarctic ice. The detector can be used to search for
signatures of particle physics beyond the Standard Model. Here, we describe the
search for non-relativistic, magnetic monopoles as remnants of the GUT (Grand
Unified Theory) era shortly after the Big Bang. These monopoles may catalyze
the decay of nucleons via the Rubakov-Callan effect with a cross section
suggested to be in the range of to
. In IceCube, the Cherenkov light from nucleon decays
along the monopole trajectory would produce a characteristic hit pattern. This
paper presents the results of an analysis of first data taken from May 2011
until May 2012 with a dedicated slow-particle trigger for DeepCore, a
subdetector of IceCube. A second analysis provides better sensitivity for the
brightest non-relativistic monopoles using data taken from May 2009 until May
2010. In both analyses no monopole signal was observed. For catalysis cross
sections of the flux of non-relativistic
GUT monopoles is constrained up to a level of at a 90% confidence level,
which is three orders of magnitude below the Parker bound. The limits assume a
dominant decay of the proton into a positron and a neutral pion. These results
improve the current best experimental limits by one to two orders of magnitude,
for a wide range of assumed speeds and catalysis cross sections.Comment: 20 pages, 20 figure
A combined maximum-likelihood analysis of the high-energy astrophysical neutrino flux measured with IceCube
Evidence for an extraterrestrial flux of high-energy neutrinos has now been
found in multiple searches with the IceCube detector. The first solid evidence
was provided by a search for neutrino events with deposited energies
TeV and interaction vertices inside the instrumented volume. Recent
analyses suggest that the extraterrestrial flux extends to lower energies and
is also visible with throughgoing, -induced tracks from the Northern
hemisphere. Here, we combine the results from six different IceCube searches
for astrophysical neutrinos in a maximum-likelihood analysis. The combined
event sample features high-statistics samples of shower-like and track-like
events. The data are fit in up to three observables: energy, zenith angle and
event topology. Assuming the astrophysical neutrino flux to be isotropic and to
consist of equal flavors at Earth, the all-flavor spectrum with neutrino
energies between 25 TeV and 2.8 PeV is well described by an unbroken power law
with best-fit spectral index and a flux at 100 TeV of
.
Under the same assumptions, an unbroken power law with index is disfavored
with a significance of 3.8 () with respect to the best
fit. This significance is reduced to 2.1 () if instead we
compare the best fit to a spectrum with index that has an exponential
cut-off at high energies. Allowing the electron neutrino flux to deviate from
the other two flavors, we find a fraction of at Earth.
The sole production of electron neutrinos, which would be characteristic of
neutron-decay dominated sources, is rejected with a significance of 3.6
().Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures; accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journal; updated one referenc
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory - Contributions to ICRC 2015 Part II: Atmospheric and Astrophysical Diffuse Neutrino Searches of All Flavors
Papers on atmospheric and astrophysical diffuse neutrino searches of all
flavors submitted to the 34th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC 2015,
The Hague) by the IceCube Collaboration.Comment: 66 pages, 36 figures, Papers submitted to the 34th International
Cosmic Ray Conference, The Hague 2015, v2 has a corrected author lis
All-sky search for time-integrated neutrino emission from astrophysical sources with 7 years of IceCube data
Since the recent detection of an astrophysical flux of high energy neutrinos,
the question of its origin has not yet fully been answered. Much of what is
known about this flux comes from a small event sample of high neutrino purity,
good energy resolution, but large angular uncertainties. In searches for
point-like sources, on the other hand, the best performance is given by using
large statistics and good angular reconstructions. Track-like muon events
produced in neutrino interactions satisfy these requirements. We present here
the results of searches for point-like sources with neutrinos using data
acquired by the IceCube detector over seven years from 2008--2015. The
discovery potential of the analysis in the northern sky is now significantly
below , on average
lower than the sensitivity of the previously published analysis of four
years exposure. No significant clustering of neutrinos above background
expectation was observed, and implications for prominent neutrino source
candidates are discussed.Comment: 19 pages, 17 figures, 3 tables; ; submitted to The Astrophysical
Journa
Search for Dark Matter Annihilation in the Galactic Center with IceCube-79
The Milky Way is expected to be embedded in a halo of dark matter particles,
with the highest density in the central region, and decreasing density with the
halo-centric radius. Dark matter might be indirectly detectable at Earth
through a flux of stable particles generated in dark matter annihilations and
peaked in the direction of the Galactic Center. We present a search for an
excess flux of muon (anti-) neutrinos from dark matter annihilation in the
Galactic Center using the cubic-kilometer-sized IceCube neutrino detector at
the South Pole. There, the Galactic Center is always seen above the horizon.
Thus, new and dedicated veto techniques against atmospheric muons are required
to make the southern hemisphere accessible for IceCube. We used 319.7 live-days
of data from IceCube operating in its 79-string configuration during 2010 and
2011. No neutrino excess was found and the final result is compatible with the
background. We present upper limits on the self-annihilation cross-section,
\left, for WIMP masses ranging from 30 GeV up to
10 TeV, assuming cuspy (NFW) and flat-cored (Burkert) dark matter halo
profiles, reaching down to cm s, and
cm s for the
channel, respectively.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, Submitted to EPJ-C, added references, extended
limit overvie
Neutrinos and Cosmic Rays Observed by IceCube
The core mission of the IceCube Neutrino observatory is to study the origin
and propagation of cosmic rays. IceCube, with its surface component IceTop,
observes multiple signatures to accomplish this mission. Most important are the
astrophysical neutrinos that are produced in interactions of cosmic rays, close
to their sources and in interstellar space. IceCube is the first instrument
that measures the properties of this astrophysical neutrino flux, and
constrains its origin. In addition, the spectrum, composition and anisotropy of
the local cosmic-ray flux are obtained from measurements of atmospheric muons
and showers. Here we provide an overview of recent findings from the analysis
of IceCube data, and their implications on our understanding of cosmic rays.Comment: Review article, to appear in Advances in Space Research, special
issue "Origins of Cosmic Rays
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