65 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
IceCube-Gen2: A Vision for the Future of Neutrino Astronomy in Antarctica
20 pages, 12 figures. Address correspondence to: E. Blaufuss, F. Halzen, C. Kopper (Changed to add one missing author, no other changes from initial version.)20 pages, 12 figures. Address correspondence to: E. Blaufuss, F. Halzen, C. Kopper (Changed to add one missing author, no other changes from initial version.)20 pages, 12 figures. Address correspondence to: E. Blaufuss, F. Halzen, C. Kopper (Changed to add one missing author, no other changes from initial version.)The recent observation by the IceCube neutrino observatory of an astrophysical flux of neutrinos represents the "first light" in the nascent field of neutrino astronomy. The observed diffuse neutrino flux seems to suggest a much larger level of hadronic activity in the non-thermal universe than previously thought and suggests a rich discovery potential for a larger neutrino observatory. This document presents a vision for an substantial expansion of the current IceCube detector, IceCube-Gen2, including the aim of instrumenting a volume of clear glacial ice at the South Pole to deliver substantial increases in the astrophysical neutrino sample for all flavors. A detector of this size would have a rich physics program with the goal to resolve the sources of these astrophysical neutrinos, discover GZK neutrinos, and be a leading observatory in future multi-messenger astronomy programs
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory - Contributions to ICRC 2017 Part VI: IceCube-Gen2, the Next Generation Neutrino Observatory
Papers on research & development towards IceCube-Gen2, the next generation neutrino observatory at South Pole, submitted to the 35th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC 2017, Busan, South Korea) by the IceCube-Gen2 Collaboration
Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger
On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transientâs position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory Part III: Cosmic Rays
Papers on cosmic rays submitted to the 33nd International Cosmic Ray
Conference (Rio de Janeiro 2013) by the IceCube Collaboration
Search for transient optical counterparts to high-energy IceCube neutrinos with Pan-STARRS1
In order to identify the sources of the observed diffuse high-energy neutrino flux, it is crucial to discover their electromagnetic counterparts. To increase the sensitivity of detecting counterparts of transient or variable sources by telescopes with a limited field of view, IceCube began releasing alerts for single high-energy (E-v > 60 TeV) neutrino detections with sky localisation regions of order 1 degrees radius in 2016. We used Pan-STARRS1 to follow-up five of these alerts during 2016-2017 to search for any optical transients that may be related to the neutrinos. Typically 10-20 faint m(ip1) less than or similar to 22.5 mag) extragalactic transients are found within the Pan-STARRS1 footprints and are generally consistent with being unrelated field supernovae (SNe) and AGN. We looked for unusual properties of the detected transients, such as temporal coincidence of explosion epoch with the IceCube timestamp, or other peculiar light curve and physical properties. We found only one transient that had properties worthy of a specific follow-up. In the Pan-STARRS1 imaging for IceCube-160427A (probability to be of astrophysical origin of similar to 50%), we found a SN PS16cgx, located at 10.0' from the nominal IceCube direction. Spectroscopic observations of PS16cgx showed that it was an H-poor SN at redshift z = 0.2895 +/- 0.0001. The spectra and light curve resemble some high-energy Type Ic SNe, raising the possibility of a jet driven SN with an explosion epoch temporally coincident with the neutrino detection. However, distinguishing Type Ia and Type Ic SNe at this redshift is notoriously difficult. Based on all available data we conclude that the transient is more likely to be a Type Ia with relatively weak Sin absorption and a fairly normal rest-frame r-band light curve. If, as predicted, there is no high-energy neutrino emission from Type Ia SNe, then PS16cgx must be a random coincidence, and unrelated to the IceCube-160427A. We find no other plausible optical transient for any of the five IceCube events observed down to a 5 sigma limiting magnitude of mip1 approximate to 22 mag, between 1 day and 25 days after detection
Multiyear search for a diffuse flux of muon neutrinos with AMANDA-II (vol 76, artn 042008, 2007)
Five years of searches for point sources of astrophysical neutrinos with the AMANDA-II neutrino telescope
Measurement of sound speed vs. depth in South Pole ice for neutrino astronomy
We have measured the speed of both pressure waves and shear waves as a
function of depth between 80 and 500 m depth in South Pole ice with better than
1% precision. The measurements were made using the South Pole Acoustic Test
Setup ({SPATS}), an array of transmitters and sensors deployed in the ice at
South Pole Station in order to measure the acoustic properties relevant to
acoustic detection of astrophysical neutrinos. The transmitters and sensors use
piezoceramics operating at 5-25 kHz. Between 200 m and 500 m depth, the
measured profile is consistent with zero variation of the sound speed with
depth, resulting in zero refraction, for both pressure and shear waves. We also
performed a complementary study featuring an explosive signal propagating from
50 to 2250 m depth, from which we determined a value for the pressure wave
speed consistent with that determined with the sensors operating at shallower
depths and higher frequencies. These results have encouraging implications for
neutrino astronomy: The negligible refraction of acoustic waves deeper than 200
m indicates that good neutrino direction and energy reconstruction, as well as
separation from background events, could be achieved.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figure
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