First combined search for neutrino point-sources in the Southern Hemisphere with the ANTARES and IceCube neutrino telescopes

TL;DR

This study combines data from ANTARES and IceCube neutrino telescopes to enhance sensitivity in detecting point-like neutrino sources in the Southern Hemisphere, achieving up to twice the sensitivity of individual analyses.

Contribution

It is the first combined analysis of ANTARES and IceCube data, improving detection sensitivity for Southern sky neutrino sources compared to separate analyses.

Findings

No significant neutrino source detected.

Flux upper limits established for candidate sources.

Sensitivity improved by up to a factor of two.

Abstract

We present the results of searches for point-like sources of neutrinos based on the first combined analysis of data from both the ANTARES and IceCube neutrino telescopes. The combination of both detectors which differ in size and location forms a window in the Southern sky where the sensitivity to point sources improves by up to a factor of two compared to individual analyses. Using data recorded by ANTARES from 2007 to 2012, and by IceCube from 2008 to 2011, we search for sources of neutrino emission both across the Southern sky and from a pre-selected list of candidate objects. No significant excess over background has been found in these searches, and flux upper limits for the candidate sources are presented for $E^{-2.5}$ and $E^{-2}$ power-law spectra with different energy cut-offs.