Interaction-powered Type Ibn Supernovae as a Transient PeVatron Candidate: The Case of SN 2023uqf

TL;DR

This study models the interaction of SN 2023uqf with its circumstellar medium, suggesting it as a transient PeVatron candidate capable of producing high-energy neutrinos detectable by IceCube.

Contribution

It presents a detailed radiation-hydrodynamics and cosmic-ray acceleration model linking Type Ibn supernovae to potential high-energy neutrino sources.

Findings

Optical data fit with dense helium-rich CSM model

Predicted neutrino emission compatible with IceCube detection window

SN 2023uqf's environment supports transient PeVatron scenario

Abstract

We investigate whether the Type Ibn supernova SN 2023uqf, reported close in time and direction to the $\sim$442 TeV IceCube alert IC-231004A, is physically consistent with a shock--circumstellar medium (CSM) interaction scenario. One-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamics calculations with {\tt STELLA} reproduce the ZTF optical light curves with a dense helium-rich CSM following $\rho_\mathrm{CSM} \propto r^{-3}$ and a CSM density parameter $D'\approx 50$. Using the shock evolution and CSM conditions inferred from the optical data, we model time-dependent cosmic-ray acceleration and hadronic neutrino production during the interaction phase. The inferred shock and CSM properties open a short-lived window in which multi-PeV hadron acceleration and efficient hadronic interactions can coexist, making SN 2023uqf a plausible transient PeVatron candidate. After folding the predicted neutrino emission through the IceCube effective area, we obtain an expected number of $\sim10^{-5}-10^{-4}$ track-like events at $d = 723$ Mpc, depending on the alert selection. In the low-count regime, the model predicts a detection-time weighting for a rare event, and the detection time of IC-231004A falls within the high-weight interval while its energy scale is compatible with the modeled spectrum. Although a single event cannot establish a definitive association, our results show that the optically inferred environment of SN 2023uqf is consistent with a transient PeVatron window and illustrate how interaction-powered Type Ibn supernovae can be tested as high-energy neutrino sources.