High energy cosmic photons and neutrinos
High energy cosmic photons and neutrinos - sources, detection, and cosmological theories
NEUTRINO↗
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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
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Astrophysical 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 to our understanding of cosmic rays.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
Ultra high energy neutrinos: absorption, thermal effects and signatures
We study absorption of ultra high energy neutrinos by the cosmic neutrino background, with full inclusion of the effect of the thermal distribution of the background on the resonant annihilation channel. For a hierarchical neutrino mass spectrum (with at least one neutrino with mass below ∼ 10{sup −2} eV), thermal effects are important for ultra high energy neutrino sources at z∼>16. The neutrino transmission probability shows no more than two separate suppression dips since the two lightest mass eigenstates contribute as a single species when thermal effects are included. Results are applied to a number of models of ultra high energy neutrino emission. Suppression effects are strong for sources that extend beyond z ∼ 10, which can be realized for certain top down scenarios, such as superheavy dark matter decays, cosmic strings and cosmic necklaces. For these, a broad suppression valley should affect the neutrino spectrum at least in the energy interval 10{sup 12}−10{sup 13} GeV — which therefore is disfavored for ultra high energy neutrino searches — with only a mild dependence on the neutrino mass spectrum and hierarchy. The observation of absorption effects would indicate a population of sources beyond z ∼ 10, and favor top-down mechanisms; it would also be an interesting probe of the physics of the relic neutrino background in the unexplored redshift interval z ∼ 10–100.
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SEARCHES FOR POINT-LIKE AND EXTENDED NEUTRINO SOURCES CLOSE TO THE GALACTIC CENTER USING THE ANTARES NEUTRINO TELESCOPE
A search for cosmic neutrino sources using six years of data collected by the ANTARES neutrino telescope has been performed. Clusters of muon neutrinos over the expected atmospheric background have been looked for. No clear signal has been found. The most signal-like accumulation of events is located at equatorial coordinates R.A. = –46.°8 and decl. = –64.°9 and corresponds to a 2.2σ background fluctuation. In addition, upper limits on the flux normalization of an E {sup –2} muon neutrino energy spectrum have been set for 50 pre-selected astrophysical objects. Finally, motivated by an accumulation of seven events relatively close to the Galactic Center in the recently reported neutrino sample of the IceCube telescope, a search for point sources in a broad region around this accumulation has been carried out. No indication of a neutrino signal has been found in the ANTARES data and upper limits on the flux normalization of an E {sup –2} energy spectrum of neutrinos from point sources in that region have been set. The 90% confidence level upper limits on the muon neutrino flux normalization vary between 3.5 and 5.1 × 10{sup –8} GeV cm{sup –2} s{sup –1}, depending on the exact location of the source.
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Initial Results from a Search for Lunar Radio Emission from Interactions of >= 10(exp 19) eV Neutrinos and Cosmic Rays
Using the NASA Goldstone 70m antenna DSS 14 both singly and in coincidence with the 34 m antenna DSS 13 (21.7 km to the southeast), we have acquired approximately 12 hrs of livetime in a search for predicted pulsed radio emission from extremely-high energy cascades induced by neutrinos or cosmic rays in the lunar regolith. In about 4 hrs of single antenna observations, we reduced our sensitivity to impulsive terrestrial interference to a negligible level by use of a veto afforded by the unique capability of DSS 14. In the 8 hrs of dual-antenna observations, terrestrial interference is eliminated as a background. In both observing modes the thermal noise floor limits the sensitivity. We detected no events above statistical background. We report here initial limits based on these data which begin to constrain several predictions of the flux of EHE neutrinos.
Gorham, P. W.↗
Cosmic Supernova Neutrino and Gamma-Ray Backgrounds in the MeV Regime
Cosmic multimessenger backgrounds include relic diffuse components created in the early universe and contributions from individual sources. Here, we study both type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) and core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) contributions to the diffuse neutrino and gamma-ray backgrounds in the MeV regime referred to as DSNB and DSGB respectively. We show that the diffuse SN Ia background is 10 6 times lower (for $\overline{v}_e$) than the CCSN background making it negligible. Our predicted DSNB $\overline{v}_e$ flux at earth in the 19.3–32 MeV regime is 0.36 ν cm -2 s -1 . We also find that the DSNB flux in the energy range from 11.3 to 32 MeV varies by +29% with a change in the SFRD model from Madau & Fragos which yielded a minimum predicted flux, to the extragalactic background light reconstruction model (maximum predicted flux). The diffuse SN Ia gamma-ray background and its dependence on the progenitor supernova delay time distribution are also evaluated. Furthermore, we address the origin of the CGB (Cosmic Gamma-ray Background) in the 0.1–7 MeV regime by adding contributions from sources such as SNe Ia, CCSNe, radio-quiet Active Galactic Nuclei, Flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) and Neutron star—neutron star mergers. We find that our modeled background (including uncertainties) matches the observed CGB above 1.0 MeV, but is a factor ≈2 lower than the observed flux in the 0.1–1.0 MeV range, highlighting the need for future MeV missions to establish the CGB spectrum more reliably, and to possibly identify additional sources or even source classes in the underexplored MeV band.
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Efficiently extracting energy from cosmological neutrinos
Detecting the extremely low-energy neutrinos that form the Cosmic Neutrino Background (CNB) presents many experimental challenges, but pursuing this elusive goal is still worthwhile because these weakly-interacting particles could provide a new window into the structure and composition of the early universe. This report examines whether cosmological neutrinos can deposit sufficient energy into a target system to be detectable with plausible extensions of current bolometric technologies. While the macroscopic wavelengths of cosmological neutrinos can greatly enhance their cross sections with dense targets, such interactions can only be detectable if they transfer a significant fraction of each neutrino's kinetic energy into the detector system. We find that a large array of dense target masses coupled to suitable motion-sensitive circuits could potentially satisfy both of these conditions and thus might be able to serve as the basis for a more practical cosmological neutrino detector.
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WEIGHING NEUTRINOS WITH COSMIC NEUTRAL HYDROGEN
We investigate the signatures left by massive neutrinos on the spatial distribution of neutral hydrogen (H i) in the post-reionization era by running hydrodynamic simulations that include massive neutrinos as additional collisionless particles. We find that halos in massive/massless neutrino cosmologies host a similar amount of neutral hydrogen, although for a fixed halo mass, on average, the H i mass increases with the sum of the neutrino masses. Our results show that H i is more strongly clustered in cosmologies with massive neutrinos, while its abundance, Ω{sub H} {sub i}(z), is lower. These effects arise mainly from the impact of massive neutrinos on cosmology: they suppress both the amplitude of the matter power spectrum on small scales and the abundance of dark matter halos. Modeling the H i distribution with hydrodynamic simulations at z > 3 and a simple analytic model at z < 3, we use the Fisher matrix formalism to conservatively forecast the constraints that Phase 1 of the Square Kilometre Array will place on the sum of neutrino masses, M{sub ν} ≡ Σ m{sub ν}. We find that with 10,000 hr of interferometric observations at 3 ≲ z ≲ 6 from a deep and narrow survey with SKA1-LOW, the sum of the neutrino masses can be measured with an error σ(M{sub ν}) ≲ 0.3 eV (95% CL). Similar constraints can be obtained with a wide and deep SKA1-MID survey at z ≲ 3, using the single-dish mode. By combining data from MID, LOW, and Planck, plus priors on cosmological parameters from a Stage IV spectroscopic galaxy survey, the sum of the neutrino masses can be determined with an error σ(M{sub ν}) ≃ 0.06 eV (95% CL)
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Hadron production measurement in the NA61/SHINE experiment at the CERN SPS for neutrino and cosmic ray experiments
This paper is focused on one of the physics goals of the NA61/SHINE experiment: measurements of hadron production needed for neutrino (T2K) and cosmic-ray (Pierre Auger and KASKADE) experiments. Knowledge of pion and kaon production from proton-Carbon interactions at 31GeV/c is of key importance for improving the accuracy of neutrino flux simulations of the T2K experiment at J-PARC. This information also helps to improve the accuracy of Monte Carlo models used in cosmic-ray physics. Three different methods of pion spectra extraction and two approaches for the kaon case are presented. Final differential cross section in several intervals of emission angle of charged pions and preliminary results for kaons are shown for p+C interactions at 31GeV/c based on the sample of events registered in the 2007 pilot run.
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
GALAXY MERGERS AS A SOURCE OF COSMIC RAYS, NEUTRINOS, AND GAMMA RAYS
We investigate the shock acceleration of particles in massive galaxy mergers or collisions, and show that cosmic rays (CRs) can be accelerated up to the second knee energy ∼0.1-1 EeV and possibly beyond, with a hard spectral index of Γ ≈ 2. Such CRs lose their energy via hadronuclear interactions within a dynamical timescale of the merger shock, producing gamma rays and neutrinos as a by-product. If ∼10% of the shock dissipated energy goes into CR acceleration, some local merging galaxies will produce gamma-ray counterparts detectable by the Cherenkov Telescope Array. Also, based on the concordance cosmology, where a good fraction of the massive galaxies experience a major merger in a cosmological timescale, the neutrino counterparts can constitute ∼20%-60% of the isotropic background detected by IceCube.
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Cosmic PeV neutrinos and the sources of ultrahigh energy protons
The IceCube experiment recently detected the first flux of high-energy neutrinos in excess of atmospheric backgrounds. Here, we examine whether these neutrinos originate from within the same extragalactic sources as ultrahigh energy cosmic rays. Starting from rather general assumptions about spectra and flavors, we find that producing a neutrino flux at the requisite level through pion photoproduction leads to a flux of protons well below the cosmic-ray data at ∼10 18 eV, where the composition is light, unless pions/muons cool before decaying. This suggests a dominant class of accelerator that allows for cosmic rays to escape without significant neutrino yields.
Kistler, Matthew D.↗
Constraints on inflation with an extended neutrino sector
Constraints on inflationary models typically assume only the standard models of cosmology and particle physics. By extending the neutrino sector to include a new interaction with a light scalar mediator (mφ ~ MeV), it is possible to relax these constraints, in particular via opening up regions of the parameter space of the spectral index n s . These new interactions can be probed at IceCube via interactions of astrophysical neutrinos with the cosmic neutrino background for nearly all of the relevant parameter space.
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
First constraint on the neutrino-induced phase shift in the spectrum of baryon acoustic oscillations
The existence of the cosmic neutrino background is a robust prediction of the hot big bang model. These neutrinos were a dominant component of the energy density in the early Universe and therefore played an important role in the evolution of cosmological perturbations. The energy density of the cosmic neutrino background has been measured using the abundances of light elements and the anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background. A complementary and more robust probe is provided by a distinct shift in the temporal phase of sound waves in the primordial plasma that is produced by fluctuations in the neutrino density. Here, we report on the first constraint on this neutrino-induced phase shift in the spectrum of baryon acoustic oscillations of the BOSS DR12 data. Constraining the acoustic scale using Planck data while marginalizing over the effects of neutrinos in the cosmic microwave background, we find a non-zero phase shift at greater than 95% confidence. Besides providing a new test of the cosmic neutrino background, our work is the first application of the baryon acoustic oscillation signal to early Universe physics.
Baumann, Daniel↗
Galactic Center Neutrinos from Cosmic Ray-Dark Matter Interactions
The IceCube and ANTARES collaborations have recently reported evidence for high-energy neutrinos associated with the Galactic plane and the Galactic Ridge, offering a new pathway to search for dark matter (DM). Deep inelastic scattering of cosmic rays with sub-GeV DM in the Galactic halo produces a distinctive neutrino signature from meson decays. Using detailed Galactic cosmic-ray maps and ANTARES observations, we derive 99% C.L. upper limits on the DM-nucleon cross section that extend down to keV-scale masses. These results establish Galactic neutrino telescopes as a powerful, complementary probe of light DM, with substantial improvements expected from upcoming IceCube-Gen2 and KM3NeT observations.
Terol Calvo, Jorge [INFN, Turin]↗
SUB-PeV NEUTRINOS FROM TeV UNIDENTIFIED SOURCES IN THE GALAXY
The IceCube collaboration discovery of 28 high-energy neutrinos over the energy range 30 TeV {approx}< {epsilon}{sub {nu}} {approx}< 1 PeV, a 4.3{sigma} excess over expected backgrounds, represents the first high-confidence detection of cosmic neutrinos at these energies. In light of this discovery, we explore the possibility that some of the sub-PeV cosmic neutrinos might originate in our Galaxy's TeV unidentified (TeV UnID) sources. While typically resolved at TeV energies, these sources lack prominent radio or X-ray counterparts, and so have been considered promising sites for hadron acceleration within our Galaxy. Modeling the TeV UnID sources as Galactic hypernova remnants, we predict sub-PeV neutrino fluxes and spectra consistent with their contributing a minority of n{sub {nu}} {approx}< 2 of the observed events. This is consistent with our analysis of the spatial distribution of the sub-PeV neutrinos and TeV UnID sources, which finds that a best-fit of one, and maximum of 3.8 (at 90% confidence), of the Almost-Equal-To 16 non-atmospheric sub-PeV neutrinos may originate in the TeV UnID sources, with the remaining 75%-95% of events being drawn from an isotropic background. If our scenario is correct, we expect excess sub-PeV neutrinos to accumulate along the Galactic plane, within |l| {approx}< {+-} 30 Degree-Sign of the Galactic center and in the Cygnus region, as observations by IceCube and other high-energy neutrino facilities go forward. Our scenario also has implications for radio, X-ray, and TeV observations of the TeV UnID sources.
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Initial Results from a Search for Lunar Radio Emission from Interactions of >10***sup19*** eV Neutrinos and Cosmic Rays
We report here initial limits based on data which strongly constrain several predictions of the flux of EHE neutrinos.
nuetrinos↗
Anatomy of a cosmic-ray neutrino source and the Cygnus X-3 system
The effects of an intense beam of ultra-high energy cosmic rays from a compact object in the Cygnus X-3 binary system hitting the companion star, and of the subsequent production of secondary neutrinos, are examined. A maximum allowable beam luminosity of about 10 to the 42nd erg/s is found for a system containing a 1-10 solar mass main sequence target star. The proton beam must heat a relatively small area of the target star to satisfy observational constraints on the resulting stellar wind. With such a model, the neutrino to gamma-ray flux ratio of about 1000 can result from a combination of gamma-ray absorption and a large neutrino to gamma-ray duty cycle ratio. It is found that the high density of the atmosphere resulting from compression by the beam leads to pion cascading and a neutrino spectrum peaking at 1-10 GeV energies.
Stecker, F. W.↗
Neutrino condensation from a new Higgs-like interaction
In this work, we revisit the scenario of having a new interaction between neutrinos and a Higgs-like scalar suggested by short-baseline neutrino anomalies. We find that there are two possible attractive channels in the resulting effective 4-Fermi theory which lead to a neutrino condensation in cosmic neutrinos and the creation of a neutrino superfluid at low temperatures and finite chemical potential. We find that at the minimum of the effective potential V the condensates are mostly made up of pairs of left-left + right-right composites, with a tiny admixture of left-right + right-left composites which differs from the scenario of Kapusta which focused on the energetically unfavored left-right + right-left scenario. We obtain an approximate equation for the gap Δ 2 = 4 m H ( μ - m ) Exp [ - π 2 G eff μ μ 2 - m 2 ] , where m H is the mass of the Higgs scalar, and G eff is the effective (renormalized) 4- Fermi interaction. Recent constraints on cosmological neutrinos suggest the possibility that log 10 ( G eff MeV 2 ) = - 1.72 which would lead to an exponentially small gap.
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗