Between 2011 March and 2014 August Swift responded to 20 triggers from the
IceCube neutrino observatory, observing the IceCube 50% confidence error circle
in X-rays, typically within 5 hours of the trigger. No confirmed counterpart
has been detected. We describe the Swift follow up strategy and data analysis
and present the results of the campaign. We discuss the challenges of
distinguishing the X-ray counterpart to a neutrino trigger from serendipitous
uncatalogued X-ray sources in the error circle, and consider the implications
of our results for future strategies for multi-messenger astronomy, with
particular reference to the follow up of gravitational wave triggers from the
advanced-era detectors.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 18 pages, including 8 figures and
4 tables; two of which are landscape-oriente
