On the relation between the astrophysical neutrino fluxes and the cosmic ray fluxes

TL;DR

This paper explores the connection between high-energy astrophysical neutrino fluxes and cosmic ray fluxes, considering cosmic ray spectrum, composition, and source transparency, to better understand neutrino origins.

Contribution

It generalizes the relation between neutrino and cosmic ray fluxes with realistic cosmic ray models and source properties, including Galactic and extragalactic components.

Findings

IceCube neutrino fluxes can originate from sources transparent to protons.

Heavier nuclei can be emitted without significant disintegration.

The model aligns neutrino observations with cosmic ray data.

Abstract

Some generalizations of the relation between high-energy astrophysical neutrino and cosmic ray fluxes are obtained, taking into account present results on the cosmic ray spectrum and composition as well as a more realistic modeling of the Galactic and extragalactic cosmic ray components down to PeV energies. It is found that the level of neutrino fluxes measured by IceCube can be consistent with sources that are thin to escaping protons. This could also make it easier for heavier nuclei to be emitted from the sources without suffering excessive disintegration processes.