Sentinel of the extraordinary: the IceCube alert system for neutrino flares

TL;DR

The paper discusses the IceCube Neutrino Observatory's real-time alert system for high-energy neutrino flares, enabling multi-messenger astrophysics and sharing new results from a decade of neutrino flare analysis.

Contribution

It presents an overview of the GFU alert platform and reports new findings from the analysis of neutrino flares over twelve years.

Findings

Analysis of recorded neutrino flares over a decade.

Hundreds of alerts sent to partner observatories.

Identification of astrophysical sources of neutrino flares.

Abstract

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory has the invaluable capability of continuously monitoring the whole sky. This has affirmed the role of IceCube as a sentinel, providing real-time alerts to the astrophysical community on the detection of high-energy neutrinos and neutrino flares from a variety of astrophysical sources. As a response to the IceCube alerts, different observatories can join forces in the multi-messenger observation of transient events and the characterisation of their astrophysical sources. The 2017 breakthrough identification of blazar TXS 0506+056 as the source of high-energy neutrinos and UHE gamma rays was proof of this strategy. The Gamma-ray Follow-Up (GFU) is the IceCube program for identifying high-energy muon neutrino single events, as well as outstanding neutrino flares from relevant sources and the whole wide universe. While the identification of single high-energy neutrinos is shared on public alert distribution networks, partner Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescopes are sent low-latency alerts following the detection of neutrino flares, for which they have dedicated follow-up programs. I will present an overview of the GFU platform together with new results from the analysis of recorded neutrino flares, after a dozen years of GFU operation and hundreds of alerts being sent.