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https://hdl.handle.net/2440/111182
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Type: | Journal article |
Title: | Measurement of the multi-TeV neutrino interaction cross-section with IceCube using Earth absorption |
Author: | Aartsen, M. Hill, G. Kyriacou, A. Robertson, S. Wallace, A. Whelan, B. Ackermann, M. Bernardini, E. Blot, S. Bradascio, F. Bretz, H. Brostean-Kaiser, J. Franckowiak, A. Jacobi, E. Karg, T. Kintscher, T. Kunwar, S. Nahnhauer, R. Satalecka, K. Spiering, C. et al. |
Citation: | Nature, 2017; 551(7682):596-600 |
Publisher: | Nature Publishing Group |
Issue Date: | 2017 |
ISSN: | 0028-0836 1476-4687 |
Statement of Responsibility: | Mark G Aartsen, Gary C Hill, Alexander L Kyriacou, Sally A Robertson, Alexander L Wallace, Benjamin J Whelan ... et al. |
Abstract: | Neutrinos interact only very weakly, so they are extremely penetrating. The theoretical neutrino-nucleon interaction cross-section, however, increases with increasing neutrino energy, and neutrinos with energies above 40 teraelectronvolts (TeV) are expected to be absorbed as they pass through the Earth. Experimentally, the cross-section has been determined only at the relatively low energies (below 0.4 TeV) that are available at neutrino beams from accelerators. Here we report a measurement of neutrino absorption by the Earth using a sample of 10,784 energetic upward-going neutrino-induced muons. The flux of high-energy neutrinos transiting long paths through the Earth is attenuated compared to a reference sample that follows shorter trajectories. Using a fit to the two-dimensional distribution of muon energy and zenith angle, we determine the neutrino-nucleon interaction cross-section for neutrino energies 6.3-980 TeV, more than an order of magnitude higher than previous measurements. The measured cross-section is about 1.3 times the prediction of the standard model, consistent with the expectations for charged- and neutral-current interactions. We do not observe a large increase in the cross-section with neutrino energy, in contrast with the predictions of some theoretical models, including those invoking more compact spatial dimensions or the production of leptoquarks. This cross-section measurement can be used to set limits on the existence of some hypothesized beyond-standard-model particles, including leptoquarks. |
Keywords: | IceCube Collaboration |
Rights: | © 2017 Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature. All rights reserved. |
DOI: | 10.1038/nature24459 |
Grant ID: | ARC |
Published version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature24459 |
Appears in Collections: | Aurora harvest 8 Physics publications |
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