High energy neutrinos from pulsar-powered optical transients: LFBOTs as potential origin of the KM3NeT event KM3-230213A

TL;DR

This paper investigates whether pulsar-powered optical transients, especially LFBOTs, can produce the ultra-high energy neutrinos detected by KM3NeT, suggesting LFBOTs as a potential source for such neutrino events.

Contribution

The study introduces a detailed analysis of the neutrino emission from various pulsar-powered transients, highlighting LFBOTs as plausible sources for ultra-high energy neutrinos.

Findings

LFBOTs can produce the required diffuse neutrino flux.

Magnetar parameters influence neutrino emission levels.

LFBOTs are promising candidates for high-energy neutrino sources.

Abstract

Recently, the KM3NeT Collaboration reported the detection of an ultra-high energy ($\sim 220$ PeV) neutrino event, KM3-230213A. In this work, we perform a detailed investigation into whether this event could originate from the diffuse neutrino flux produced by a class of pulsar-powered optical transients. In particular, we consider populations of ordinary supernovae (SNe), super-luminous supernovae (SLSNe), and luminous fast blue optical transients (LFBOTs) with a newly formed magnetar as the central engine. We discuss both the thermal electromagnetic and non-thermal neutrino emission from such sources. We scan the parameter space of the dipolar magnetic field strength and the initial spin period to determine characteristic optical emission properties and lightcurve timescales of these transients. Additionally, our scan identifies which classes of these transients can reproduce the required diffuse flux level and neutrino energies. Combining our results, we conclude that a diffuse neutrino flux from a population of LFBOTs can explain the KM3NeT event. Therefore, pulsar-powered optical transients may serve as promising sources for the current and upcoming high-energy and ultra-high energy neutrino telescopes.