| 1. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(författare)
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Observation of High-Energy Astrophysical Neutrinos in Three Years of IceCube Data
- 2014
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Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 113:10, s. 101101-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A search for high-energy neutrinos interacting within the IceCube detector between 2010 and 2012 provided the first evidence for a high-energy neutrino flux of extraterrestrial origin. Results from an analysis using the same methods with a third year (2012-2013) of data from the complete IceCube detector are consistent with the previously reported astrophysical flux in the 100 TeV-PeV range at the level of 10(-8) GeV cm(-2) s(-1) sr(-1) per flavor and reject a purely atmospheric explanation for the combined three-year data at 5.7 sigma. The data are consistent with expectations for equal fluxes of all three neutrino flavors and with isotropic arrival directions, suggesting either numerous or spatially extended sources. The three-year data set, with a live time of 988 days, contains a total of 37 neutrino candidate events with deposited energies ranging from 30 to 2000 TeV. The 2000-TeV event is the highest-energy neutrino interaction ever observed.
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| 2. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(författare)
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SEARCHES FOR EXTENDED AND POINT-LIKE NEUTRINO SOURCES WITH FOUR YEARS OF ICECUBE DATA
- 2014
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 796:2, s. 109-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present results on searches for point-like sources of neutrinos using four years of IceCube data, including the first year of data from the completed 86 string detector. The total livetime of the combined data set is 1373 days. For an E-2 spectrum, the observed 90% C. L. flux upper limits are similar to 10(-12) TeV-1 cm(-2) s(-1) for energies between 1 TeV and 1 PeV in the northern sky and similar to 10(-11) TeV-1 cm(-2) s(-1) for energies between 100 TeV and 100 PeV in the southern sky. This represents a 40% improvement compared to previous publications, resulting from both the additional year of data and the introduction of improved reconstructions. In addition, we present the first results from an all-sky search for extended sources of neutrinos. We update the results of searches for neutrino emission from stacked catalogs of sources and test five new catalogs; two of Galactic supernova remnants and three of active galactic nuclei. In all cases, the data are compatible with the background-only hypothesis, and upper limits on the flux of muon neutrinos are reported for the sources considered.
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| 3. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(författare)
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Search for neutrino-induced particle showers with IceCube-40
- 2014
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Ingår i: Physical Review D. - 1550-7998 .- 1550-2368. ; 89:10, s. 102001-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on the search for neutrino-induced particle showers, so-called cascades, in the IceCube-40 detector. The data for this search were collected between April 2008 and May 2009 when the first 40 IceCube strings were deployed and operational. Three complementary searches were performed, each optimized for different energy regimes. The analysis with the lowest energy threshold (2 TeV) targeted atmospheric neutrinos. A total of 67 events were found, consistent with the expectation of 41 atmospheric muons and 30 atmospheric neutrino events. The two other analyses targeted a harder, astrophysical neutrino flux. The analysis with an intermediate threshold of 25 TeV leads to the observation of 14 cascadelike events, again consistent with the prediction of 3.0 atmospheric neutrino and 7.7 atmospheric muon events. We hence set an upper limit of E-2 Phi(lim) <= 7.46 x 10(-8) GeV sr(-1) s(-1) cm(-2) (90% C.L.) on the diffuse flux from astrophysical neutrinos of all neutrino flavors, applicable to the energy range 25 TeV to 5 PeV, assuming an E-nu(-2) spectrum and a neutrino flavor ratio of 1: 1: 1 at the Earth. The third analysis utilized a larger and optimized sample of atmospheric muon background simulation, leading to a higher energy threshold of 100 TeV. Three events were found over a background prediction of 0.04 atmospheric muon events and 0.21 events from the flux of conventional and prompt atmospheric neutrinos. Including systematic errors this corresponds to a 2.7 sigma excess with respect to the background-only hypothesis. Our observation of neutrino event candidates above 100 TeV complements IceCube's recently observed evidence for high-energy astrophysical neutrinos.
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| 4. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(författare)
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Search for a diffuse flux of astrophysical muon neutrinos with the IceCube 59-string configuration
- 2014
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Ingår i: Physical Review D. - 1550-7998 .- 1550-2368. ; 89:6, s. 062007-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A search for high-energy neutrinos was performed using data collected by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory from May 2009 to May 2010, when the array was running in its 59-string configuration. The data sample was optimized to contain muon neutrino induced events with a background contamination of atmospheric muons of less than 1%. These data, which are dominated by atmospheric neutrinos, are analyzed with a global likelihood fit to search for possible contributions of prompt atmospheric and astrophysical neutrinos, neither of which have yet been identified. Such signals are expected to follow a harder energy spectrum than conventional atmospheric neutrinos. In addition, the zenith angle distribution differs for astrophysical and atmospheric signals. A global fit of the reconstructed energies and directions of observed events is performed, including possible neutrino flux contributions for an astrophysical signal and atmospheric backgrounds as well as systematic uncertainties of the experiment and theoretical predictions. The best fit yields an astrophysical signal flux for nu(mu) + (nu) over bar (mu) of E-2. Phi(E) = 0.25 x 10(-8) GeV cm(-2) s(-1) sr(-1), and a zero prompt component. Although the sensitivity of this analysis for astrophysical neutrinos surpasses the Waxman and Bahcall upper bound, the experimental limit at 90% confidence level is a factor of 1.5 above at a flux of E-2 . Phi(E) = 1.44 x 10(-8) GeV cm(-2) s(-1) sr(-1).
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| 5. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(författare)
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Search for non-relativistic magnetic monopoles with IceCube
- 2014
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Ingår i: European Physical Journal C. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1434-6044 .- 1434-6052. ; 74:7, s. 2938-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is a large Cherenkov detector instrumenting of Antarctic ice. The detector can be used to search for signatures of particle physics beyond the Standard Model. Here, we describe the search for non-relativistic, magnetic monopoles as remnants of the Grand Unified Theory (GUT) era shortly after the Big Bang. Depending on the underlying gauge group these monopoles may catalyze the decay of nucleons via the Rubakov-Callan effect with a cross section suggested to be in the range of to . In IceCube, the Cherenkov light from nucleon decays along the monopole trajectory would produce a characteristic hit pattern. This paper presents the results of an analysis of first data taken from May 2011 until May 2012 with a dedicated slow-particle trigger for DeepCore, a subdetector of IceCube. A second analysis provides better sensitivity for the brightest non-relativistic monopoles using data taken from May 2009 until May 2010. In both analyses no monopole signal was observed. For catalysis cross sections of the flux of non-relativistic GUT monopoles is constrained up to a level of at a 90 % confidence level, which is three orders of magnitude below the Parker bound. The limits assume a dominant decay of the proton into a positron and a neutral pion. These results improve the current best experimental limits by one to two orders of magnitude, for a wide range of assumed speeds and catalysis cross sections.
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| 6. |
- Abbasi, R., et al.
(författare)
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Background studies for acoustic neutrino detection at the South Pole
- 2012
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Ingår i: Astroparticle physics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0927-6505 .- 1873-2852. ; 35:6, s. 312-324
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The detection of acoustic signals from ultra-high energy neutrino interactions is a promising method to measure the flux of cosmogenic neutrinos expected on Earth. The energy threshold for this process depends strongly on the absolute noise level in the target material. The South Pole Acoustic Test Setup (SPATS), deployed in the upper part of four boreholes of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, has monitored the noise in Antarctic ice at the geographic South Pole for more than two years down to 500 m depth. The noise is very stable and Gaussian distributed. Lacking an in situ calibration up to now, laboratory measurements have been used to estimate the absolute noise level in the 10-50 kHz frequency range to be smaller than 20 mPa. Using a threshold trigger, sensors of the South Pole Acoustic Test Setup registered acoustic events in the IceCube detector volume and its vicinity. Acoustic signals from refreezing IceCube holes and from anthropogenic sources have been used to test the localization of acoustic events. An upper limit on the neutrino flux at energies E-v>10(11) GeV is derived from acoustic data taken over eight months. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 7. |
- Abbasi, R., et al.
(författare)
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Neutrino Analysis of the 2010 September Crab Nebula Flare and Time-Integrated Constraints on Neutrino Emission from the Crab Using Icecube
- 2012
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 745:1, s. 45-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the results of a search for high-energy muon neutrinos with the IceCube detector in coincidence with the Crab Nebula flare reported on 2010 September by various experiments. Due to the unusual flaring state of the otherwise steady source we performed a prompt analysis of the 79-string configuration data to search for neutrinos that might be emitted along with the observed. gamma-rays. We performed two different and complementary data selections of neutrino events in the time window of 10 days around the flare. One event selection is optimized for discovery of E-upsilon(2). neutrino spectrum typical of first-order Fermi acceleration. A similar event selection has also been applied to the 40-string data to derive the time-integrated limits to the neutrino emission from the Crab. The other event selection was optimized for discovery of neutrino spectra with softer spectral index and TeV energy cutoffs as observed for various Galactic sources in. gamma-rays. The 90% confidence level (CL) best upper limits on the Crab flux during the 10 day flare are 4.73 x 10(-11) cm(-2) s(-1) TeV-1 for an E-upsilon(2). neutrino spectrum and 2.50 x 10(-10) cm(-2) s(-1) TeV-1 for a softer neutrino spectra of E-upsilon(-2.7), as indicated by Fermi measurements during the flare. In this paper, we also illustrate the impact of the time-integrated limit on the Crab neutrino steady emission. The limit obtained using 375.5 days of the 40-string configuration is compared to existing models of neutrino production from the Crab and its impact on astrophysical parameters is discussed. The most optimistic predictions of some models are already rejected by the IceCube neutrino telescope with more than 90% CL.
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| 8. |
- Abbasi, R., et al.
(författare)
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Observation of anisotropy in the arrival directions of galactic cosmic rays at multiple angular scales with IceCube
- 2011
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 740:1, s. 16-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Between 2009 May and 2010 May, the IceCube neutrino detector at the South Pole recorded 32 billion muons generated in air showers produced by cosmic rays with a median energy of 20 TeV. With a data set of this size, it is possible to probe the southern sky for per-mil anisotropy on all angular scales in the arrival direction distribution of cosmic rays. Applying a power spectrum analysis to the relative intensity map of the cosmic ray flux in the southern hemisphere, we show that the arrival direction distribution is not isotropic, but shows significant structure on several angular scales. In addition to previously reported large-scale structure in the form of a strong dipole and quadrupole, the data show small-scale structure on scales between 15 degrees and 30 degrees. The skymap exhibits several localized regions of significant excess and deficit in cosmic ray intensity. The relative intensity of the smaller-scale structures is about a factor of five weaker than that of the dipole and quadrupole structure. The most significant structure, an excess localized at (right ascension alpha = 122 degrees.4 and declination d = -47 degrees.4), extends over at least 20 degrees in right ascension and has a post-trials significance of 5.3 sigma. The origin of this anisotropy is still unknown.
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| 9. |
- Abbasi, R., et al.
(författare)
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Search for a diffuse flux of astrophysical muon neutrinos with the IceCube 40-string detector
- 2011
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Ingår i: Physical Review D. - 1550-7998 .- 1550-2368. ; 84:8, s. 082001-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is a 1 km(3) detector currently taking data at the South Pole. One of the main strategies used to look for astrophysical neutrinos with IceCube is the search for a diffuse flux of high-energy neutrinos from unresolved sources. A hard energy spectrum of neutrinos from isotropically distributed astrophysical sources could manifest itself as a detectable signal that may be differentiated from the atmospheric neutrino background by spectral measurement. This analysis uses data from the IceCube detector collected in its half completed configuration which operated between April 2008 and May 2009 to search for a diffuse flux of astrophysical muon neutrinos. A total of 12 877 upward-going candidate neutrino events have been selected for this analysis. No evidence for a diffuse flux of astrophysical muon neutrinos was found in the data set leading to a 90% C. L. upper limit on the normalization of an E(-2) astrophysical nu(mu) flux of 8.9 x 10(-9) GeV cm(-2) s(-1) sr(-1). The analysis is sensitive in the energy range between 35 TeV and 7 PeV. The 12 877 candidate neutrino events are consistent with atmospheric muon neutrinos measured from 332 GeV to 84 TeV and no evidence for a prompt component to the atmospheric neutrino spectrum is found.
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| 10. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(författare)
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Energy reconstruction methods in the IceCube neutrino telescope
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Instrumentation. - 1748-0221 .- 1748-0221. ; 9, s. P03009-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Accurate measurement of neutrino energies is essential to many of the scientific goals of large-volume neutrino telescopes. The fundamental observable in such detectors is the Cherenkov light produced by the transit through a medium of charged particles created in neutrino interactions. The amount of light emitted is proportional to the deposited energy, which is approximately equal to the neutrino energy for v(e) and v(mu) charged-current interactions and can be used to set a lower bound on neutrino energies and to measure neutrino spectra statistically in other channels. Here we describe methods and performance of reconstructing charged-particle energies and topologies from the observed Cherenkov light yield, including techniques to measure the energies of uncontained muon tracks, achieving average uncertainties in electromagnetic-equivalent deposited energy of similar to 15% above 10 TeV.
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