1. |
- Ackermann, Markus, et al.
(author)
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High-energy and ultra-high-energy neutrinos : A Snowmass white paper
- 2022
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In: Journal of High Energy Astrophysics. - : Elsevier. - 2214-4048 .- 2214-4056. ; 36, s. 55-110
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Astrophysical neutrinos are excellent probes of astroparticle physics and high-energy physics. With energies far beyond solar, supernovae, atmospheric, and accelerator neutrinos, high-energy and ultrahigh-energy neutrinos probe fundamental physics from the TeV scale to the EeV scale and beyond. They are sensitive to physics both within and beyond the Standard Model through their production mechanisms and in their propagation over cosmological distances. They carry unique information about their extreme non-thermal sources by giving insight into regions that are opaque to electromagnetic radiation. This white paper describes the opportunities astrophysical neutrino observations offer for astrophysics and high-energy physics, today and in coming years.
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2. |
- Álvarez-Muñiz, Jaime, et al.
(author)
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The Giant Radio Array for Neutrino Detection (GRAND) : Science and design
- 2020
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In: Science China Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1674-7348 .- 1869-1927. ; 63:1
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Giant Radio Array for Neutrino Detection (GRAND) is a planned large-scale observatory of ultra-high-energy (UHE) cosmic particles, with energies exceeding 108 GeV. Its goal is to solve the long-standing mystery of the origin of UHE cosmic rays. To do this, GRAND will detect an unprecedented number of UHE cosmic rays and search for the undiscovered UHE neutrinos and gamma rays associated to them with unmatched sensitivity. GRAND will use large arrays of antennas to detect the radio emission coming from extensive air showers initiated by UHE particles in the atmosphere. Its design is modular: 20 separate, independent sub-arrays, each of 10000 radio antennas deployed over 10000 km(2). A staged construction plan will validate key detection techniques while achieving important science goals early. Here we present the science goals, detection strategy, preliminary design, performance goals, and construction plans for GRAND.
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3. |
- Reusch, Simeon, et al.
(author)
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Candidate Tidal Disruption Event AT2019fdr Coincident with a High-Energy Neutrino
- 2022
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In: Physical Review Letters. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 128:22
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The origins of the high-energy cosmic neutrino flux remain largely unknown. Recently, one high-energy neutrino was associated with a tidal disruption event (TDE). Here we present AT2019fdr, an exceptionally luminous TDE candidate, coincident with another high-energy neutrino. Our observations, including a bright dust echo and soft late-time x-ray emission, further support a TDE origin of this flare. The probability of finding two such bright events by chance is just 0.034%. We evaluate several models for neutrino production and show that AT2019fdr is capable of producing the observed high-energy neutrino, reinforcing the case for TDEs as neutrino sources.
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4. |
- Samuelsson, Filip, et al.
(author)
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Constraining Low-luminosity Gamma-Ray Bursts as Ultra-high-energy Cosmic Ray Sources Using GRB 060218 as a Proxy
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- We study the connection between low-luminosity gamma-ray bursts (llGRBs) and ultra-high-energy cosmic rays using the canonical low-luminosity GRB 060218 as a proxy. We focus on the consequen- tial synchrotron emission from electrons that are co-accelerated in the UHECR acceleration region, comparing this emission to observations. Both the prompt and afterglow phases are considered. For the prompt phase, we find that bright optical-UV emission is inevitable if the co-accelerated electrons are instantaneously injected into a power-law distribution. To enable acceleration of UHECRs while accommodating the optical-UV emission, it is necessary to keep the electrons from fast cooling (e.g., via reheating). Yet, the energetics of such models are independently constrained from our analysis of the afterglow. For the afterglow phase, we consider mildly relativistic outflows with bulk Lorentz factor $\Gamma \gtrsim 2$. Using thermal synchrotron radiation, we show that the initial kinetic energy of the afterglow blast wave of GRB 060218 was 10 times lower than the minimum energy required to satisfy the observed flux of UHECRs. Indeed, a blast wave with sufficient energy and where electrons carry 10–20% of the energy as suggested by particle-in-cell simulations, would typically overshoot the available radio data at ∼ 3 days by more than an order of magnitude. If GRB 060218 is representative of the llGRB population as a whole, then our results show that their relativistic afterglows are unlikely to be the dominant sources of UHECRs. It also implies that for the prompt phase to be the main origin of UHECRs, a majority of the energy would need to escape as cosmic rays, neutrinos, or radiation before the onset of the afterglow, independent of the prompt emission mechanism. More generally, our study demonstrates that synchrotron emission from thermal electrons is a powerful diagnostic of the physics of mildly relativistic shocks.
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5. |
- Samuelsson, Filip, et al.
(author)
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Constraining Low-luminosity Gamma-Ray Bursts as Ultra-high-energy Cosmic Ray Sources Using GRB 060218 as a Proxy
- 2020
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - : IOP PUBLISHING LTD. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 902:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We study the connection between low-luminosity gamma-ray bursts (llGRBs) and ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) using the canonical low-luminosity GRB 060218 as a proxy. We focus on the consequential synchrotron emission from electrons that are coaccelerated in the UHECR acceleration region, comparing this emission to observations. Both the prompt and afterglow phases are considered. For the prompt phase, we assume the coaccelerated electrons are injected with a power-law distribution instantaneously (without additional heating or reacceleration), which results in bright optical-UV emission in tension with observations. For the afterglow phase, we constrain the total kinetic energy of the blast wave by comparing electron thermal synchrotron radiation to available radio data at similar to 3 days. Considering mildly relativistic outflows with bulk Lorentz factor Gamma greater than or similar to 2 (slower transrelativistic outflows are not treated), we find that the limited available energy does not allow for GRB 060218-like afterglows to be the main origin of UHECRs. This analysis independently constrains the prompt phase as a major UHECR source as well, given that the prompt energy budget is comparable to that of the afterglow kinetic energy. More generally, our study demonstrates that synchrotron emission from thermal electrons is a powerful diagnostic of the physics of mildly relativistic shocks.
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6. |
- Samuelsson, Filip, et al.
(author)
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The problematic connection between low-luminosity gamma-ray bursts and ultra-high-energy cosmic rays
- 2022
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The origin of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) remains debated. The prompt and afterglow phases of low-luminosity gamma-ray bursts (LLGRBs) are seen as promising candidates for this acceleration. Here, we investigate this connection by looking at the unavoidable emission from the electrons that are co-accelerated together with UHECRs. Specifically, we use the data from the archetypical low-luminosity GRB 060218. We find that if acceleration of UHECRs occurred during the prompt phase, the emission from the electrons would be orders of magnitude brighter than the observations in the optical band. For the afterglow phase, we limit the total available kinetic energy by comparing the emission from the thermal electrons to the radio data at three days. We find that the total energy in the afterglow is not sufficient to supply the UHECR flux observed at Earth. These results challenge the mildly relativistic outflows of LLGRBs as the main sources of UHECRs.
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7. |
- Vardanyan, Valeri, et al.
(author)
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Revisiting tests of Lorentz invariance with gamma-ray bursts : Effects of intrinsic lags
- 2023
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In: Physical Review D. - 2470-0010 .- 2470-0029. ; 108:12
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Due to their cosmological distances high-energy astrophysical sources allow for unprecedented tests of fundamental physics. Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) comprise among the most sensitive laboratories for exploring the violation of the central physics principle of Lorentz invariance (LIV), by exploiting the spectral time lag of arriving photons. It has been believed that GRB spectral lags are inherently related with their luminosities, and intrinsic source contributions, which remain poorly understood, could significantly impact the LIV results. Using a combined sample of 49 long and short GRBs observed by the Swift telescope, we perform a stacked spectral lag search for LIV effects. We set novel limits on LIV, including limits on quadratic effects, and systematically explore for the first time the impacts of the intrinsic GRB lag-luminosity relation. We find that source contributions can strongly impact resulting LIV tests, modifying their limits by up to a factor of a few. We discuss constraints coming from GRB 221009A.
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