Search for Quantum Decoherence with 10.7 years of atmospheric $\nu_\mu$ events in IceCube

TL;DR

This study uses 10.7 years of atmospheric muon neutrino data from IceCube to search for signs of quantum decoherence potentially caused by Planck-scale spacetime fluctuations, improving sensitivity over previous results.

Contribution

It presents the most sensitive search for neutrino decoherence using IceCube data, with enhanced analysis techniques and a larger dataset than prior studies.

Findings

No evidence of neutrino decoherence was observed.

The analysis sets new upper limits on quantum decoherence parameters.

Results improve constraints on quantum gravity models.

Abstract

In order to develop a consistent quantum theory of gravity, we must understand the nature of spacetime at the Planck scale. In particular if it exhibits quantum fluctuations, they may cause propagating particles to evolve in an apparently non-unitary manner. Neutrinos, which interact only via the weak force and gravity, maintain quantum coherence while propagating over large distances. Thus, neutrino oscillations serve as a precise interferometer to search for Planck-scale fluctuations of spacetime. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is the world's largest neutrino telescope, located in the Antarctic icecap. We search the data on atmospheric neutrinos detected by IceCube in the energy range 0.5-100 TeV to test for neutrino decoherence. In this contribution, we present the sensitivity of the analysis, which shows significant improvement compared to previous IceCube results as a result of improved reconstruction and a larger sample of events.