Multimessenger Constraints on Intergalactic Magnetic Fields from the Flare of TXS 0506+056

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new simulation-based method to constrain intergalactic magnetic fields by analyzing neutrino and gamma-ray observations from the blazar TXS 0506+056, providing insights into cosmic magnetism.

Contribution

It presents a novel Monte Carlo simulation approach to derive constraints on intergalactic magnetic field strength and coherence length from multimessenger observations.

Findings

Constraints on magnetic-field strength over six orders of magnitude.

Constraints on coherence length of intergalactic magnetic fields.

First application of this method to TXS 0506+056.

Abstract

The origin of magnetic fields in the universe is an open problem. Seed magnetic fields possibly produced in early times may have survived up to the present day close to their original form, providing an untapped window to the primeval universe. The recent observations of high-energy neutrinos from the blazar TXS 0506+056 in association with an electromagnetic counterpart in a broad range of wavelengths can be used to probe intergalactic magnetic fields via the time delay between the neutrinos and gamma rays as well as the time dependence of the gamma-ray fluxes. Using extensive three-dimensional Monte Carlo simulations, we present a novel method to constrain these fields. We apply it to TXS 0506+056 and, for the first time, derive constraints on both the magnetic-field strength and its coherence length, considering six orders of magnitude for each.