92 research outputs found
A radio air shower surface detector as an extension for IceCube and IceTop
The IceCube neutrino detector is built into the Antarctic ice sheet at the
South Pole to measure high energy neutrinos. For this, 4800 photomultiplier
tubes (PMTs) are being deployed at depths between 1450 and 2450 meters into the
ice to measure neutrino induced charged particles like muons. IceTop is a
surface air shower detector consisting of 160 Cherenkov ice tanks located on
top of IceCube. To extend IceTop, a radio air shower detector could be built to
significantly increase the sensitivity at higher shower energies and for
inclined showers. As air showers induced by cosmic rays are a major part of the
muonic background in IceCube, IceTop is not only an air shower detector, but
also a veto to reduce the background in IceCube. Air showers are detectable by
radio signals with a radio surface detector. The major emission process is the
coherent synchrotron radiation emitted by e+ e- shower particles in the Earths
magnetic field (geosynchrotron effect). Simulations of the expected radio
signals of air showers are shown. The sensitivity and the energy threshold of
different antenna field configurations are estimated.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, to be published in Proceedings of the 30th
International Cosmic Ray Conferenc
Differential limit on the extremely-high-energy cosmic neutrino flux in the presence of astrophysical background from nine years of IceCube data
We report a quasi-differential upper limit on the extremely-high-energy (EHE)
neutrino flux above GeV based on an analysis of nine years of
IceCube data. The astrophysical neutrino flux measured by IceCube extends to
PeV energies, and it is a background flux when searching for an independent
signal flux at higher energies, such as the cosmogenic neutrino signal. We have
developed a new method to place robust limits on the EHE neutrino flux in the
presence of an astrophysical background, whose spectrum has yet to be
understood with high precision at PeV energies. A distinct event with a
deposited energy above GeV was found in the new two-year sample, in
addition to the one event previously found in the seven-year EHE neutrino
search. These two events represent a neutrino flux that is incompatible with
predictions for a cosmogenic neutrino flux and are considered to be an
astrophysical background in the current study. The obtained limit is the most
stringent to date in the energy range between and GeV. This result constrains neutrino models predicting a three-flavor
neutrino flux of $E_\nu^2\phi_{\nu_e+\nu_\mu+\nu_\tau}\simeq2\times 10^{-8}\
{\rm GeV}/{\rm cm}^2\ \sec\ {\rm sr}10^9\ {\rm GeV}$. A significant part
of the parameter-space for EHE neutrino production scenarios assuming a
proton-dominated composition of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays is excluded.Comment: The version accepted for publication in Physical Review
Calabaria and the phytogeny of erycine snakes
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73563/1/j.1096-3642.1993.tb00290.x.pd
The IceCube Data Acquisition System: Signal Capture, Digitization, and Timestamping
IceCube is a km-scale neutrino observatory under construction at the South
Pole with sensors both in the deep ice (InIce) and on the surface (IceTop). The
sensors, called Digital Optical Modules (DOMs), detect, digitize and timestamp
the signals from optical Cherenkov-radiation photons. The DOM Main Board (MB)
data acquisition subsystem is connected to the central DAQ in the IceCube
Laboratory (ICL) by a single twisted copper wire-pair and transmits packetized
data on demand. Time calibration is maintained throughout the array by regular
transmission to the DOMs of precisely timed analog signals, synchronized to a
central GPS-disciplined clock. The design goals and consequent features,
functional capabilities, and initial performance of the DOM MB, and the
operation of a combined array of DOMs as a system, are described here.
Experience with the first InIce strings and the IceTop stations indicates that
the system design and performance goals have been achieved.Comment: 42 pages, 20 figures, submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Methods
Investigation of two Fermi-LAT gamma-ray blazars coincident with high-energy neutrinos detected by IceCube
After the identification of the gamma-ray blazar TXS 0506+056 as the first
compelling IceCube neutrino source candidate, we perform a systematic analysis
of all high-energy neutrino events satisfying the IceCube realtime trigger
criteria. We find one additional known gamma-ray source, the blazar GB6
J1040+0617, in spatial coincidence with a neutrino in this sample. The chance
probability of this coincidence is 30% after trial correction. For the first
time, we present a systematic study of the gamma-ray flux, spectral and optical
variability, and multi-wavelength behavior of GB6 J1040+0617 and compare it to
TXS 0506+056. We find that TXS 0506+056 shows strong flux variability in the
Fermi-LAT gamma-ray band, being in an active state around the arrival of
IceCube-170922A, but in a low state during the archival IceCube neutrino flare
in 2014/15. In both cases the spectral shape is statistically compatible () with the average spectrum showing no indication of a significant
relative increase of a high-energy component. While the association of GB6
J1040+0617 with the neutrino is consistent with background expectations, the
source appears to be a plausible neutrino source candidate based on its
energetics and multi-wavelength features, namely a bright optical flare and
modestly increased gamma-ray activity. Finding one or two neutrinos originating
from gamma-ray blazars in the given sample of high-energy neutrinos is
consistent with previously derived limits of neutrino emission from gamma-ray
blazars, indicating the sources of the majority of cosmic high-energy neutrinos
remain unknown.Comment: 22 pages, 11 figures, 2 Table
An eV-scale sterile neutrino search using eight years of atmospheric muon neutrino data from the IceCube Neutrino Observatory
The results of a 3+1 sterile neutrino search using eight years of data from
the IceCube Neutrino Observatory are presented. A total of 305,735 muon
neutrino events are analyzed in reconstructed energy-zenith space to test for
signatures of a matter-enhanced oscillation that would occur given a sterile
neutrino state with a mass-squared differences between 0.01\,eV and
100\,eV. The best-fit point is found to be at
and , which is consistent with the no sterile
neutrino hypothesis with a p-value of 8.0\%.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures. This letter is supported by the long-form paper
"Searching for eV-scale sterile neutrinos with eight years of atmospheric
neutrinos at the IceCube neutrino telescope," also appearing on arXiv.
Digital data release available at:
https://github.com/icecube/HE-Sterile-8year-data-releas
Searching for eV-scale sterile neutrinos with eight years of atmospheric neutrinos at the IceCube neutrino telescope
We report in detail on searches for eV-scale sterile neutrinos, in the
context of a 3+1 model, using eight years of data from the IceCube neutrino
telescope. By analyzing the reconstructed energies and zenith angles of 305,735
atmospheric and events we construct confidence
intervals in two analysis spaces: vs.
under the conservative assumption ; and
vs. given sufficiently large that
fast oscillation features are unresolvable. Detailed discussions of the event
selection, systematic uncertainties, and fitting procedures are presented. No
strong evidence for sterile neutrinos is found, and the best-fit likelihood is
consistent with the no sterile neutrino hypothesis with a p-value of 8\% in the
first analysis space and 19\% in the second.Comment: This long-form paper is a companion to the letter "An eV-scale
sterile neutrino search using eight years of atmospheric muon neutrino data
from the IceCube Neutrino Observatory". v2: update other experiments contours
on results plo
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