The Bright and Choked Gamma-Ray Burst Contribution to the IceCube and ANTARES Low-Energy Excess

TL;DR

This paper investigates whether bright and choked gamma-ray bursts can explain the low-energy neutrino excess observed by IceCube and ANTARES, concluding they are unlikely to be the dominant sources without fine-tuning.

Contribution

The study presents a unified model for bright and choked gamma-ray bursts, analyzing their potential to account for the observed neutrino excess in a comprehensive framework.

Findings

Choked and bright gamma-ray bursts produce significant neutrino flux.

They are unlikely to be the main sources of the neutrino excess.

Parameter fine-tuning or alternative scenarios are needed for explanation.

Abstract

The increasing statistics of the high-energy neutrino flux observed by the IceCube Observatory points towards an excess of events above the atmospheric neutrino background in the 30--400 TeV energy range. Such an excess is compatible with the findings of the ANTARES Telescope and it would naturally imply the possibility that more than one source class contributes to the observed flux. Electromagnetically hidden sources have been invoked to interpret this excess of events at low energies. By adopting a unified model for the electromagnetically bright and choked gamma-ray bursts and taking into account particle acceleration at the internal and collimation shock radii, we discuss whether bright and choked bursts are viable candidates. Our findings suggest that, although producing a copious neutrino flux, choked and bright astrophysical jets cannot be the dominant sources of the excess of neutrino events. A fine tuning of the model parameters or distinct scenarios for choked jets should be invoked in order to explain the low-energy neutrino data of IceCube and ANTARES.