Search for Extended Sources of Neutrino Emission in the Galactic Plane with IceCube

Journal article

Abstract The Galactic plane, harboring a diffuse neutrino flux, is a particularly interesting target in which to study potential cosmic-ray acceleration sites. Recent gamma-ray observations by HAWC and LHAASO have presented evidence for multiple Galactic sources that exhibit a spatially extended morphology and have energy spectra continuing beyond 100 TeV. A fraction of such emission could be produced by interactions of accelerated hadronic cosmic rays, resulting in an excess of high-energy neutrinos clustered near these regions. Using 10 years of IceCube data comprising track-like events that originate from charged-current muon neutrino interactions, we perform a dedicated search for extended neutrino sources in the Galaxy. We find no evidence for time-integrated neutrino emission from the potential extended sources studied in the Galactic plane. The most significant location, at 2.6 σ post-trials, is a 1.°7 sized region coincident with the unidentified TeV gamma-ray source 3HWC J1951+266. We provide strong constraints on hadronic emission from several regions in the galaxy.

Authors: Abbasi, R; Ackermann, M; Adams, J; Agarwalla, SK; Aguilar, JA

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: American Astronomical Society
• Journal: The Astrophysical Journal
• Volume: 956
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 20-20
• Publication date: 2023-10-04
• DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/acf713
• EISSN: 1538-4357
• ISSN: 0004-637X
• Language: English
• Keywords: Nuclear physics; Neutrino detector; Muon; Astronomy; Galaxy; Galactic plane; Neutrino oscillation; Astrophysics; Neutrino; Cosmic ray; Physics; Neutrino astronomy