Search for a correlation between the UHECRs measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory and the Telescope Array and the neutrino candidate events from IceCube

Conference item

We have conducted three searches for correlations between ultra-high energy cosmic rays detected by the Telescope Array and the Pierre Auger Observatory, and high-energy neutrino candidate events from IceCube. Two cross-correlation analyses with UHECRs are done: one with 39 cascades from the IceCube ‘high-energy starting events’ sample and the other with 16 high-energy ‘track events’. The angular separation between the arrival directions of neutrinos and UHECRs is scanned over. The same events are also used in a separate search using a maximum likelihood approach, after the neutrino arrival directions are stacked. To estimate the significance we assume UHECR magnetic deflections to be inversely proportional to their energy, with values 3◦ , 6◦ and 9 ◦ at 100 EeV to allow for the uncertainties on the magnetic field strength and UHECR charge. A similar analysis is performed on stacked UHECR arrival directions and the IceCube sample of through-going muon track events which were optimized for neutrino point-source searches.

Authors: IceCube Collaboration; Aartsen, MG; Abraham, K; Ackermann, M; Adams, J

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Reviewed (other)
• Publisher: Proceedings of Science
• Host title: International Cosmic Ray Conference
• Journal: 34th International Cosmic Ray Conference
• Volume: 2015
• Issue: 1082
• Publication date: 2015-08-06
• Keywords: SBTMR