Abstract
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory detects high energy astrophysical neutrinos in two event topologies: tracks and cascades. Since the flavor composition of each event topology differs, tracks and cascades can be used to test the neutrino properties and the mechanisms behind the neutrino production in astrophysical sources. Assuming a conventional model for the neutrino production, the IceCube data sets related to the two channels are in >3σ tension with each other. Invisible neutrino decay with lifetime τ/m=10^{2} s/eV solves this tension. Noticeably, it leads to an improvement over the standard nondecay scenario of more than 3σ while remaining consistent with all other multimessenger observations. In addition, our invisible neutrino decay model predicts a reduction of 59% in the number of observed ν_{τ} events which is consistent with the current observational deficit.
Highlights
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory detects high energy astrophysical neutrinos in two event topologies: tracks and cascades
We explore several modifications to the standard picture of the high energy astrophysical neutrino flux beyond what is foreseen within the Standard Model [20]
Standard neutrino source model.—For the sake of generality, we model the neutrino spectral distribution in such a way to be agnostic about the mechanism of the neutrino production, i.e., pγ or pp interactions
Summary
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory detects high energy astrophysical neutrinos in two event topologies: tracks and cascades. We determine the diffuse intensity at Earth after oscillations, convert this into the per-flavor intensity from each of the track and cascade channels, and fit a power law to each assuming a 1∶1∶1 flavor ratio to compare a model to IceCube’s observations. Invisible neutrino decay provides a good fit to the data and is preferred over the Standard Model at more than 3σ, removing the tension.
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