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NASA NTRS2021

Indirect Dark Matter Searches at Ultrahigh Energy Neutrino Detectors

High to ultrahigh energy neutrino detectors can uniquely probe the properties of dark matterχby searching for the secondary products produced through annihilation and/or decay processes. We evaluate the sensitivities to dark matter thermally averaged annihilation cross section〈σv〉and partial decay width into neutrinos Γ χ→ν ̄ν (in the mass scale 10 7 ≤ m χ /GeV ≤ 10 15 ) for next generation observatories like POEMMA and GRAND. We show that in the range 10 7 ≤ m χ /GeV ≤ 10 11 , space-based Cherenkov detectors like POEMMA have the advantage of full-sky coverage and rapid slewing, enabling an optimized dark matter observation strategy focusing on the Galactic center. We also show that ground-based radio detectors such as GRAND can achieve high sensitivities and high duty cycles in radio quiet areas. We compare the sensitivities of next generation neutrino experiments with existing constraints from IceCube and updated 90% C.L. upper limits on〈σv〉and Γ χ→ν ̄ν using results from the Pierre Auger Collaboration and ANITA. We show that in the range 10 7 ≤ m χ /GeV ≤ 10 11 POEMMA and GRAND10k will improve the neutrino sensitivity to particle dark matter by factors of 2 to 10 over existing limits, whereas GRAND200k will improve this sensitivity by two orders of magnitude. In the range 10 11 ≤ m χ /GeV ≤ 10 15 , POEMMA’s fluorescence observation mode will achieve an unprecedented sensitivity to dark matter properties. Finally, we highlight the importance of the uncertainties related to the dark matter distribution in the Galactic halo, using the latest fit and estimates of the Galactic parameters.

Particle astrophysics↗

NASA NTRS1961

NEUTRINO EMISSION PROCESSES, STELLAR EVOLUTION AND SUPERNOVA. PART II.

When the internal temperature of a star exceeds 1 BK (109 °K) the evolution is very rapid. The time scale is around 3000 years. Energy dissipated by emission of neutrinos is several orders of magnitude higher than that by optical radiation. Neutrinos have exceedingly long mean free path (∼10(exp 20) gram/cm(exp 2)) and they will escape as soon as they are produced. The star will contract to release gravitational energy to make up the energy lost to neutrinos and the internal temperature will rise to comply with the virial theorem. It is possible in this fast evolutionary phase, to neglect optical radiations all together as compared with the neutrino radiation. A set of structural equations is thus obtained. The envelope is replaced by boundary conditions. A simple model is constructed to illustrate our approach.

Star↗

NASA NTRS1976

Competition of neutrino and gravitational radiation in neutron star formation

An investigation is conducted concerning the possibility that neutrino radiation rather than gravitational radiation may be the dominant way by which nonradial pulsations are damped out in a collapsing star. The effects of neutrino radiation on the nonradial oscillations of such objects are examined and damping times corresponding to a particular neutrino production mechanism are evaluated. The obtained results imply that neutrino radiation, by more rapid damping of the nonradial oscillations of a newly formed neutron star in a supernova explosion, would hinder gravitational radiation, thus reducing the possibility of its detection.

Kazanas, D.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Measureable characteristics of extraterrestrial sources of high energy neutrinos

Calculations were carried out to determine the characteristics of extraterrestial neutrino sources that could be observed in a high energy ( 1 TeV) neutrino detector given an adequate source intensity. Measureable quantities such as y and the ratio of muonless to muon containing events can, potentially, reveal source characteristics such as charge state (matter or antimatter), density, and local particle spectrum. Comparisons were made with the flux of atmospheric neutrinos including the effects of prompt neutrinos.

Learned, J.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Radiative decay of massious neutrinos: Implications for physics and astrophysics

The radiative lifetime tau for the decay of massious neutrinos is calculated using various physical models for neutrino decay. The results are related to the astrophysical problem of the detectability of the decay photons from cosmic neutrinos. Conversely, the astrophysical data are used to place lower limits on tau. However, an observed feature at approximately 1700 A in the ultraviolet background radiation at high galactic latitudes may be from the decay of neutrinos with mass approximately 14 eV. This would require a decay rate much larger than the predictions of standard models but could be indicative of a decay rate possible in composite models. It is considered that this may be an important test for substructure in leptons and quarks.

Stecker, F. W.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Have massive cosmological neutrinos already been detected

The possibility is investigated that the decay of massive cosmological neutrinos may have produced a spectral signature which has already been detected in observations of the ultraviolet background radiation. Various implications are discussed including a possible implied neutrino mass of 13.8-14.8 eV. A lower limit is also placed on the lifetime of heavy neutrinos with respect to decay into light neutrinos and gamma rays based on the cosmic UV observations.

Stecker, F. W.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Astrophysical tests for radiative decay of neutrinos and fundamental physics implications

The radiative lifetime tau for the decay of massious neutrinos was calculated using various physical models for neutrino decay. The results were then related to the astrophysical problem of the detectability of the decay photons from cosmic neutrinos. Conversely, the astrophysical data were used to place lower limits on tau. These limits are all well below predicted values. However, an observed feature at approximately 1700 A in the ultraviolet background radiation at high galactic latitudes may be from the decay of neutrinos with mass approximately 14 eV. This would require a decay rate much larger than the predictions of standard models but could be indicative of a decay rate possible in composite models or other new physics. Thus an important test for substructure in leptons and quarks or other physics beyond the standard electroweak model may have been found.

Stecker, F. W.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Monte Carlo study of neutrino acceleration in supernova shocks

The first order Fermi acceleration mechanism of cosmic rays in shocks may be at work for neutrinos in supernova shocks when the latter are at densities greater than 10 to the 13th g/cu cm, at which the core material is opaque to neutrinos. A Monte Carlo approach to study this effect is employed, and the emerging neutrino power law spectra are presented. The increased energy acquired by the neutrinos may facilitate their detection in supernova explosions and provide information about the physics of collapse.

Kazanas, D.↗

NASA NTRS1985

High energy neutrino astronomy with MACRO

A large area underground detector with accurate muon tracking and directionality can be used for the search of extraterrestrial sources of high energy neutrinos. The sensitivity of the MACRO detector to possible sources of neutrinos was evaluated with a Monte-Carlo simulation of the neutrino interaction in the rock and and of the detection in the real apparatus. Two categories of possible neutrino sources are discussed in comparison with the detector sensitivity. Promising candidate objects for this search appear to be the two binary X-ray sources in the southern key Vela X1 and LMC X4, which are known to emit gamma rays up to the 10,000 TeV region.

Auriemma, G.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Bolometric detection of neutrinos

Elastic neutrino scattering off electrons in crystalline silicon at 1-10 mK results in measurable temperature changes in macroscopic amounts of material, even for low-energy (less than 0.41-MeV) pp neutrinos from the sun. New detectors for bolometric measurement of low-energy neutrino interactions, including coherent nuclear elastic scattering, are proposed. A new and more sensitive search for oscillations of reactor antineutrinos is practical (about 100 kg of Si), and would lay the groundwork for a more ambitious measurement of the spectrum of pp, Be-7, and B-8 solar neutrinos, and of supernovae anywhere in the Galaxy (about 10 tons of Si).

Cabrera, B.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Anatomy of a cosmic-ray neutrino source and the Cygnus X-3 system

The effects of an intense beam of ultra-high energy cosmic rays from a compact object in the Cygnus X-3 binary system hitting the companion star, and of the subsequent production of secondary neutrinos, are examined. A maximum allowable beam luminosity of about 10 to the 42nd erg/s is found for a system containing a 1-10 solar mass main sequence target star. The proton beam must heat a relatively small area of the target star to satisfy observational constraints on the resulting stellar wind. With such a model, the neutrino to gamma-ray flux ratio of about 1000 can result from a combination of gamma-ray absorption and a large neutrino to gamma-ray duty cycle ratio. It is found that the high density of the atmosphere resulting from compression by the beam leads to pion cascading and a neutrino spectrum peaking at 1-10 GeV energies.

Stecker, F. W.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Muons and neutrinos

The first generation of large and precise detectors, some initially dedicated to search for nucleon decay has accumulated significant statistics on neutrinos and high-energy muons. A second generation of even better and bigger detectors are already in operation or in advanced construction stage. The present set of experimental data on muon groups and neutrinos is qualitatively better than several years ago and the expectations for the following years are high. Composition studies with underground muon groups, neutrino detection, and expected extraterrestrial neutrino fluxes are discussed.

Stanev, T.↗

NASA NTRS1986

High energy neutrino absorption and its effects on stars in close X-ray binaries

The physics and astrophysics of high energy neutrino production and interactions in close X-ray binary systems are studied. These studies were stimulated by recent observations of ultrahigh energy gamma-rays and possibly other ultrahigh energy particles coming from the directions of Cygnus X-3 and other binary systems and possessing the periodicity characteristics of these systems. Systems in which a compact object, such as a neutron star, is a strong source of high energy particles which, in turn, produce photons, neutronos and other secondary particles by interactions in the atmosphere of the companion star were considered. The highest energy neutrinos are absorbed deep in the companion and the associated energy deposition may be large enough to effect its structure or lead to its ultimate disruption. This neutrino heating was evaluated, starting with a detailed numerical calculation of the hadronic cascade induced in the atmosphere of the companion star. For some theoretical models, the resulting energy deposition from neutrino absorption may be so great as to disrupt the companion star over an astronomically small timescale of the order of 10,000 years. Even if the energy deposition is smaller, it may still be high enough to alter the system substantially, perhaps leading to quenching of high energy signals from the source. Given the cosmic ray luminosities required to produce the observed gamma rays from cygnus X-3 and LMX X-4, such a situation may occur in these sources.

Gaisser, T. K.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Effects of high-energy neutrino production and interactions on stars in close X-ray binaries

Limits are discussed that may be placed on binary systems in which a compact partner is a strong source of high-energy particles that produce photons, neutrinos, and other secondary particles in the companion star. The highest energy neutrinos are absorbed deep in the companion and the associated energy deposition may be large enough to affect its structure or lead to its ultimate disruption. This neutrino heating is evaluated, starting with a detailed numerical calculation of the hadronic cascade induced in the atmosphere of the companion star. For some theoretical models, the resulting energy deposition from neutrino absorption may be so great as to disrupt the companion star over a time scale of 10,000-100,000 yr. Even if the energy deposition is smaller, it may still be high enough to alter the system substantially.

Gaisser, T. K.↗

NASA NTRS1987

The effect of neutrino transport on the collapse of iron stellar cores

A multigroup flux-limited diffusion approximation to neutrino transport, correct to first order in material velocities, is described. The role of neutrino-electron scattering in determining core deleptonization is studied using a modified Fokker-Planck approximation in which adjacent neutrino energy groups are coupled. The moderate deleptonizaton obtained during infall restricts homologous core masses to less than 0.8 solar mass. With 0.6-0.8 solar mass of outer core to traverse, nuclear dissociation alone stalls the shock waves produced at core bounce. In addition, neutrino energy losses remove at least another 4 x 10 to the 51st ergs. In no case is matter ejected promptly as a direct result of the initial shock wave.

Myra, E. S.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Correlation mass method for analysis of neutrinos from supernova 1987A

Application of a time-energy correlation method to the Kamiokande II (KII) observations of neutrinos apparently emitted from supernova 1987A has yielded a neutrino rest mass of 3.6 eV. A Monte Carlo analysis shows a reconfirming probabilty distribution for the neutrino rest mass peaked at 2.8, and dropping to 50 percent of the peak at 1.4 and 4.8 eV. Although the KII data indicate a very short time scale of emission, over an extended period on the order of 10 sec, both data from the Irvine-Michigan-Brookhaven experiment and the KII data show a tendency for the more energetic neutrinos to be emitted earlier at the source, suggesting the possibility of cooling.

Chiu, Hong-Yee↗

NASA NTRS1989

Experimental limits on the radiative decay of SN 1987A neutrinos

SMM gamma-ray spectrometer data are examined to look for gamma-ray emission coincident with the about-10-s neutrino burst from SN 1987A. The absence of a detectable signal suggests that the energy radiated into MeV gamma rays by neutrino decay (or any other process) is less than 10 to the -10th of that in supernova neutrinos above 9 MeV. The results are used to set a direct limit on the lifetime of any massive neutrino type generated in the core collapse leading to SN 1987A.

Chupp, Edward L.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Exact expressions and improved approximations for interaction rates of neutrinos with free nucleons in a high-temperature, high-density gas

The exact expressions needed in the neutrino transport equations for scattering of all three flavors of neutrinos and antineutrinos off free protons and neutrons, and for electron neutrino absorption on neutrons and electron antineutrino absorption on protons, are derived under the assumption that nucleons are noninteracting particles. The standard approximations even with corrections for degeneracy, are found to be poor fits to the exact results. Improved approximations are constructed which are adequate for nondegenerate nucleons for neutrino energies from 1 to 160 MeV and temperatures from 1 to 50 MeV.

Schinder, Paul J.↗