Vetoing atmospheric neutrinos in a high energy neutrino telescope

TL;DR

This paper explores methods to significantly reduce atmospheric neutrino background in high energy neutrino telescopes by vetoing muons from atmospheric meson decays, aiming for over 99% suppression at energies above 10 TeV.

Contribution

It proposes a muon veto technique to suppress downward atmospheric neutrinos in high energy neutrino telescopes, enhancing detection of astrophysical neutrinos.

Findings

Potential to veto >99% of atmospheric neutrinos above 10 TeV

Veto efficiency depends on detector depth and muon identification

Feasibility of identifying downward neutrinos with good energy resolution

Abstract

We discuss the possibility to suppress downward atmospheric neutrinos in a high energy neutrino telescope. This can be achieved by vetoing the muon which is produced by the same parent meson decaying in the atmosphere. In principle, atmospheric neutrinos with energies $E_\nu > 10$ TeV and zenith angle up to 60 degree can be vetoed with an efficiency of > 99%. Practical realization will depend on the depth of the neutrino telescope, on the muon veto efficiency and on the ability to identify downward moving neutrinos with a good energy estimation.