Paucity of downward UHE neutrino tracks in IceCube versus unexpected huge KM3-230213A event: solving the puzzles?

TL;DR

This paper investigates the scarcity of downward UHE neutrino tracks in IceCube compared to a highly energetic event observed by ARCA, proposing that detector geometry and atmospheric muon contamination may cause misinterpretation of the data.

Contribution

It introduces a hypothesis that detector geometry and atmospheric effects can lead to misidentification of neutrino directions, challenging current interpretations of UHE neutrino observations.

Findings

The ARCA event's energy is inconsistent with IceCube and AUGER bounds.

Atmospheric muon bundles may cause misreconstruction of neutrino arrival angles.

Misinterpretation could open new avenues for Tau neutrino astronomy.

Abstract

Recently the ARCA array detector published the down-ward-horizontal event: the KM3-230213A. It appeared as the most energetic neutrino ever observed: about 200 PeV (2 10^17 eV) up to EeV (10^18 eV) energy. This huge value, is puzzling. It is not statistically consistent with several upper bound derived by two greater and longer life detectors: by IceCube and in particular by AUGER array. Asymmetry in recent IceCube neutrino alert tracks upward and downward at same horizontal angles as ARCA one, suggest that they are mostly polluted atmospheric muon bundles. This paucity also disfavor the skimming neutrino interpretation by ARCA. We suggest that the array floating and bending in the deep sea may lead, sometime, to a misleading geometry that is pointing to a wrong arrival angle direction: a much less horizontal muon (neutrino) track respect to a much real one, more inclined and vertical, due to atmospheric muon bundle or charmed single event. Contrary to present argument, if such a rare event would be soon rediscovered in data or re-observed, it would open the road to a new guaranteed Tau neutrino Astronomy. At EeV energy such upward tau air-showers should shine AUGER telescopes or blaze future satellite in Space. A previous model in astrophysics considered energetic neutrino E>>100 EeV, neutrino scattering, onto cosmic, relic, light mass ones. Their ultra-relativistic Z boson resonance formation and its decay in flight would produce hadron UHECR relics around tens-hundred EeV energy. Explaining how sources located at far distances, above the usual GZK hundred Mpc, cut off ones, may shine and cluster in AUGER or TA data.