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Multi-PeV Signals from a New Astrophysical Neutrino Flux Beyond the Glashow Resonance
The IceCube neutrino discovery was punctuated by three showers with ~
1-2 PeV. Interest is intense in possible fluxes at higher energies, though a
marked deficit of ~ 6 PeV Glashow resonance events implies a spectrum
that is soft and/or cutoff below ~few PeV. However, IceCube recently reported a
through-going track event depositing 2.6 0.3 PeV. A muon depositing so
much energy can imply 10 PeV. We show that extending the
soft spectral fit from TeV-PeV data is unlikely to yield such an
event. Alternatively, a tau can deposit this much energy, though requiring
~10x higher. We find that either scenario hints at a new flux,
with the hierarchy of and energies suggesting a window
into astrophysical neutrinos at ~ 100 PeV if a tau. We address
implications, including for ultrahigh-energy cosmic-ray and neutrino origins.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures + 3 pages Supplementary Material; updated to agree
with version published in Physical Review Letter
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