Abstract
In the EeV range, neutrinos are expected to be produced by ultra-high energy cosmic rays interactions with the Cosmic Microwave Background during propagation in the Universe. We report on the search for ultra-high energy neutrinos in data collected with the Surface Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory. The searches are most efficient in the zenith angle range from 60 degrees to 95 degrees with tau neutrinos skimming in the Earth playing a dominant role. The present non-detection of UHE neutrinos in the Pierre Auger Observatory excludes the most optimistic scenarios of neutrino production in terms of UHE cosmic rays chemical composition and cosmological evolution of the acceleration sites. We also report on the searches for neutrinos in coincidence with the recent Gravitational Wave events detected by LIGO/Virgo.
Highlights
The observation of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) of energies above 1017 eV, implies the production of ultra-high energy neutrinos (UHEνs)
As evinced from Monte Carlo simulations, this search can be performed more efficiently as long as it is restricted to deep showers with high zenith angles divided in two angular subranges: downward-going low (DGL), 60◦ < θ < 75◦, and downward-going high (DGH), 75◦ < θ < 90◦
These criteria were applied blindly to search for ES, DGL and DGH neutrinos in the data collected with the surface particle detectors (SD) from 1 January 2004 to 31 March 2017
Summary
The observation of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) of energies above 1017 eV, implies the production of ultra-high energy neutrinos (UHEνs). ∼5x1019eV cosmic rays, composed of protons and heavier nuclei, interact with Cosmic Microwave Background photons and produce cosmogenic UHEνs. UHEνs are expected to be produced from the decay of charged pions created in the interactions of >1017 eV accelerated hadrons with surrounding matter and radiation at the source. The detection of ultra-high energy neutrinos could provide unique information about their origin since, unlike cosmic rays, they point directly to the source and travel unabsorbed along cosmological distances.
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