| 1. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(author)
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All-sky Search for Time-integrated Neutrino Emission from Astrophysical Sources with 7 yr of IceCube Data
- 2017
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - : IOP PUBLISHING LTD. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 835:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Since the recent detection of an astrophysical flux of high-energy neutrinos, the question of its origin has not yet fully been answered. Much of what is known about this flux comes from a small event sample of high neutrino purity, good energy resolution, but large angular uncertainties. In searches for point-like sources, on the other hand, the best performance is given by using large statistics and good angular reconstructions. Track-like muon events produced in neutrino interactions satisfy these requirements. We present here the results of searches for point-like sources with neutrinos using data acquired by the IceCube detector over 7 yr from 2008 to 2015. The discovery potential of the analysis in the northern sky is now significantly below E(nu)(2)d phi/dE(nu) = 10(-12) TeV cm(-2) s(-1), on average 38% lower than the sensitivity of the previously published analysis of 4 yr exposure. No significant clustering of neutrinos above background expectation was observed, and implications for prominent neutrino source candidates are discussed.
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| 2. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(author)
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Astrophysical neutrinos and cosmic rays observed by IceCube
- 2018
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In: Advances in Space Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0273-1177 .- 1879-1948. ; 62:10, s. 2902-2930
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- 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.
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| 3. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(author)
-
Extending the Search for Muon Neutrinos Coincident with Gamma-Ray Bursts in IceCube Data
- 2017
-
In: Astrophysical Journal. - : IOP PUBLISHING LTD. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 843:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present an all-sky search for muon neutrinos produced during the prompt γ-ray emission of 1172 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. The detection of these neutrinos would constitute evidence for ultra-high-energy cosmic-ray (UHECR) production in GRBs, as interactions between accelerated protons and the prompt γ-ray field would yield charged pions, which decay to neutrinos. A previously reported search for muon neutrino tracks from northern hemisphere GRBs has been extended to include three additional years of IceCube data. A search for such tracks from southern hemisphere GRBs in five years of IceCube data has been introduced to enhance our sensitivity to the highest energy neutrinos. No significant correlation between neutrino events and observed GRBs is seen in the new data. Combining this result with previous muon neutrino track searches and a search for cascade signature events from all neutrino flavors, we obtain new constraints for single-zone fireball models of GRB neutrino and UHECR production.
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| 4. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(author)
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First search for dark matter annihilations in the Earth with the IceCube detector
- 2017
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In: European Physical Journal C. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1434-6044 .- 1434-6052. ; 77:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present the results of the first IceCube search for dark matter annihilation in the center of the Earth. Weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), candidates for dark matter, can scatter off nuclei inside the Earth and fall below its escape velocity. Over time the captured WIMPs will be accumulated and may eventually self-annihilate. Among the annihilation products only neutrinos can escape from the center of the Earth. Large-scale neutrino telescopes, such as the cubic kilometer IceCube Neutrino Observatory located at the South Pole, can be used to search for such neutrino fluxes. Data from 327 days of detector livetime during 2011/2012 were analyzed. No excess beyond the expected background from atmospheric neutrinos was detected. The derived upper limits on the annihilation rate of WIMPs in the Earth (Gamma(A) = 1.12 x 10(14) s(-1) for WIMP masses of 50 GeV annihilating into tau leptons) and the resulting muon flux are an order of magnitude stronger than the limits of the last analysis performed with data from IceCube's predecessor AMANDA. The limits can be translated in terms of a spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross section. For a WIMP mass of 50GeV this analysis results in the most restrictive limits achieved with IceCube data.
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| 5. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(author)
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Improved limits on dark matter annihilation in the Sun with the 79-string IceCube detector and implications for supersymmetry
- 2016
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In: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics. - : IOP Publishing. - 1475-7516. ; :4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present an improved event-level likelihood formalism for including neutrino telescope data in global fits to new physics. We derive limits on spin-dependent dark matter-proton scattering by employing the new formalism in a re-analysis of data from the 79-string IceCube search for dark matter annihilation in the Sun, including explicit energy information for each event. The new analysis excludes a number of models in the weak-scale minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) for the first time. This work is accompanied by the public release of the 79-string IceCube data, as well as an associated computer code for applying the new likelihood to arbitrary dark matter models.
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| 6. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(author)
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Measurement of the nu(mu) energy spectrum with IceCube-79
- 2017
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In: European Physical Journal C. - : SPRINGER. - 1434-6044 .- 1434-6052. ; 77:10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- IceCube is a neutrino observatory deployed in the glacial ice at the geographic South Pole. The nu(mu) energy unfolding described in this paper is based on data taken with IceCube in its 79-string configuration. A sample of muon neutrino charged-current interactions with a purity of 99.5% was selected by means of amultivariate classification process based on machine learning. The subsequent unfolding was performed using the software TRUEE. The resulting spectrum covers an E-nu-range of more than four orders of magnitude from 125 GeV to 3.2 PeV. Compared to the Honda atmospheric neutrino flux model, the energy spectrum shows an excess of more than 1.9 sigma in four adjacent bins for neutrino energies E-nu >= 177.8 TeV. The obtained spectrum is fully compatible with previous measurements of the atmospheric neutrino flux and recent IceCube measurements of a flux of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos.
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| 7. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(author)
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Multiwavelength follow-up of a rare IceCube neutrino multiplet
- 2017
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP SCIENCES S A. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 607
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- On February 17, 2016, the IceCube real-time neutrino search identified, for the first time, three muon neutrino candidates arriving within 100 s of one another, consistent with coming from the same point in the sky. Such a triplet is expected once every 13.7 years as a random coincidence of background events. However, considering the lifetime of the follow-up program the probability of detecting at least one triplet from atmospheric background is 32%. Follow-up observatories were notified in order to search for an electromagnetic counterpart. Observations were obtained by Swift's X-ray telescope, by ASAS-SN, LCO and MASTER at optical wavelengths, and by VERITAS in the very-high-energy gamma-ray regime. Moreover, the Swift BAT serendipitously observed the location 100 s after the first neutrino was detected, and data from the Fermi LAT and HAWC observatory were analyzed. We present details of the neutrino triplet and the follow-up observations. No likely electromagnetic counterpart was detected, and we discuss the implications of these constraints on candidate neutrino sources such as gamma-ray bursts, core-collapse supernovae and active galactic nucleus flares. This study illustrates the potential of and challenges for future follow-up campaigns.
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| 8. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(author)
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Neutrinos below 100 TeV from the southern sky employing refined veto techniques to IceCube data
- 2020
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In: Astroparticle physics. - : ELSEVIER. - 0927-6505 .- 1873-2852. ; 116
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Many Galactic sources of gamma rays, such as supernova remnants, are expected to produce neutrinos with a typical energy cutoff well below 100 TeV. For the IceCube Neutrino Observatory located at the South Pole, the southern sky, containing the inner part of the Galactic plane and the Galactic Center, is a particularly challenging region at these energies, because of the large background of atmospheric muons. In this paper, we present recent advancements in data selection strategies for track-like muon neutrino events with energies below 100 TeV from the southern sky. The strategies utilize the outer detector regions as veto and features of the signal pattern to reduce the background of atmospheric muons to a level which, for the first time, allows IceCube searching for point-like sources of neutrinos in the southern sky at energies between 100 GeV and several TeV in the muon neutrino charged current channel. No significant clustering of neutrinos above background expectation was observed in four years of data recorded with the completed IceCube detector. Upper limits on the neutrino flux for a number of spectral hypotheses are reported for a list of astrophysical objects in the southern hemisphere.
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| 9. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(author)
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PINGU : a vision for neutrino and particle physics at the South Pole
- 2017
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In: Journal of Physics G. - : IOP Publishing. - 0954-3899 .- 1361-6471. ; 44:5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Precision IceCube Next Generation Upgrade (PINGU) is a proposed low-energy in-fill extension to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. With detection technology modeled closely on the successful IceCube example, PINGU will provide a 6 Mton effective mass for neutrino detection with an energy threshold of a few GeV. With an unprecedented sample of over 60 000 atmospheric neutrinos per year in this energy range, PINGU will make highly competitive measurements of neutrino oscillation parameters in an energy range over an order of magnitude higher than long-baseline neutrino beam experiments. PINGU will measure the mixing parameters theta(23) and Delta m(32)(2), including the octant of theta(23) for a wide range of values, and determine the neutrino mass ordering at 3 sigma median significance within five years of operation. PINGU's high precision measurement of the rate of nu(T) appearance will provide essential tests of the unitarity of the 3 x 3 PMNS neutrino mixing matrix. PINGU will also improve the sensitivity of searches for low mass dark matter in the Sun, use neutrino tomography to directly probe the composition of the Earth's core, and improve IceCube's sensitivity to neutrinos from Galactic supernovae. Reoptimization of the PINGU design has permitted substantial reduction in both cost and logistical requirements while delivering performance nearly identical to configurations previously studied.
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| 10. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(author)
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Search for annihilating dark matter in the Sun with 3 years of IceCube data
- 2017
-
In: European Physical Journal C. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1434-6044 .- 1434-6052. ; 77:3
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present results from an analysis looking for darkmatter annihilation in the Sun with the IceCube neutrino telescope. Gravitationally trapped dark matter in the Sun's core can annihilate into Standard Model particles making the Sun a source of GeV neutrinos. IceCube is able to detect neutrinos with energies > 100 GeV while its low-energy infill array DeepCore extends this to >10GeV. This analysis uses data gathered in the austral winters between May 2011 and May 2014, corresponding to 532 days of livetime when the Sun, being below the horizon, is a source of up-going neutrino events, easiest to discriminate against the dominant background of atmospheric muons. The sensitivity is a factor of two to four better than previous searches due to additional statistics and improved analysis methods involving better background rejection and reconstructions. The resultant upper limits on the spin-dependent dark matter-proton scattering cross section reach down to 1.46 x 10(-5) pb for a dark matter particle of mass 500GeV annihilating exclusively into tau(+)tau(-) particles. These are currently the most stringent limits on the spin-dependent dark matter-proton scattering cross section for WIMP masses above 50GeV.
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