Year: 2021
Type: preprint
Abstract: The IceCube Neutrino Observatory, deployed inside the deep glacial ice at the South Pole, is the largest neutrino telescope in the world. While eight years have passed since IceCube discovered a diffuse flux of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos, the sources of the vast majority of these neutrinos remain unknown. Here, we present a new search for neutrino point sources that improves the accuracy of the statistical analysis, especially in the low energy regime. We replaced the usual Gaussian approximations of IceCube's point spread function with precise numerical representations, obtained from simulations, and combined them with new machine learning-based estimates of event energies and angular errors. Depending on the source properties, the new analysis provides improved source localization, flux characterization and thereby discovery potential (by up to 30%) over previous works. The analysis will be applied to IceCube data that has been recorded with the full 86-string detector configuration from 2011 to 2020 and includes improved detector calibration.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Michigan State University, Polarforskningssekretariatet, Marquette University, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Fonds De La Recherche Scientifique - FNRS, Belgian Federal Science Policy Office, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse, Santen, Vetenskapsrådet, RWTH Aachen University, Helmholtz Alliance for Astroparticle Physics, College of Engineering, Michigan State University, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Office of Polar Programs, Office of Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research
OpenAlex ID: W3183572064