Electron decay at IceCube

TL;DR

This paper applies Accelerated Quantum Dynamics to model the decay of highly relativistic electrons in ice at IceCube, predicting observable signals that could probe fundamental physics phenomena like the Unruh effect.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of AQD to electron decay in ice, providing detailed predictions of decay signatures and their implications for fundamental physics.

Findings

Predicts acceleration-induced electron decay at IceCube energies

Identifies an excess of track topologies as a potential signal

Suggests the method can probe the Unruh effect and neutrino flavor content

Abstract

In this paper we apply the formalism of Accelerated Quantum Dynamics (AQD) to the radiative stopping of highly relativistic electrons in ice. We compute the acceleration profile of the electron along with its lifetime to decay into a muon. The Planckian spectrum of the emitted muon along with the its generalized displacement law are presented and used to quantify the muons properties. The results predict the acceleration-induced decay of electrons at IceCube energies. The signal of electron decay at IceCube manifests itself as an excess of track topologies in an energy window accessible experimentally. This setting has the potential to probe the Unruh effect as well investigate the flavor content of cosmic ray neutrinos.