Ultra-High-Energy Transient Source Search using IceCube Neutrinos and Pierre Auger Photon Candidates

TL;DR

This paper develops a framework to search for ultra-high-energy transient astrophysical sources by combining neutrino data from IceCube with photon candidates from the Pierre Auger Observatory, aiming to identify correlated signals.

Contribution

It introduces a novel multi-messenger search method for ultra-high-energy transients using combined neutrino and photon data from IceCube and Auger.

Findings

Expected sensitivities for the combined search

Potential to identify correlated neutrino-photon events

Implications for understanding ultra-high-energy sources

Abstract

The origins of ultra-high-energy particles remain one of the most profound mysteries in astrophysics. If nearby transient sources of ultra-high-energy particles exist, we might expect correlated emission of neutrinos and photons, arriving in close temporal and spatial coincidence. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory, located at the South Pole, is sensitive to neutrinos from TeV to EeV energies, while the Pierre Auger Observatory, in Argentina, detects cosmic rays and has the capability of observing ultra-high-energy photons using surface and fluorescence detectors. The ultra-high-energy photon candidates reported by the Auger Collaboration, though consistent with cosmic ray backgrounds, provide a compelling opportunity to search for correlated neutrino-photon events. In this contribution, we present the framework to search for ultra-high-energy transients by combining multi-flavour neutrino data from IceCube with photon candidates from the Auger Detector from 2011 to 2017. We will report the sensitivities that we expect to achieve from the search and the astrophysical implications of the possible outcomes.