[vsnet-grb-info 27051] IceCube-201222A: Upper limits from a search for additional neutrino events in IceCube

[GCN Circulars]

TITLE:   GCN CIRCULAR
NUMBER:  29154
SUBJECT: IceCube-201222A: Upper limits from a search for additional neutrino events in IceCube
DATE:    20/12/23 16:54:38 GMT
FROM:    Alex Pizzuto at ICECUBE/U of Wisconsin  <pizzuto at wisc.edu>

The IceCube Collaboration (http://icecube.wisc.edu/) reports:

IceCube has performed a search for additional track-like muon neutrino events arriving
from the direction of IceCube-201222A (https://gcn.gsfc.nasa.gov/gcn3/29120.gcn3) in a time
range of 2 days centered on the alert event time (2020-12-21 00:56:16.14 UTC to 2020-12-23 00:56:16.14 UTC) during which IceCube was collecting good quality data. Excluding the
event that prompted the alert, one additional track-like event is found in spatial coincidence
with the 90% containment region of IceCube-201222A. We find that these data are consistent with atmospheric background expectations, with a p-value of 1.0. We accordingly derive a time-integrated muon-neutrino flux upper limit at the alert position of E^2 dN/dE = 4.1 x 10^-5 TeV cm^-2 at 90% CL, under the assumption of an E^-2 power law. 90% of events IceCube would detect from a source at this declination with an E^-2 spectrum are approximately between 1 TeV and 1 PeV.

A subsequent search was performed to include the month of data prior to the alert event (2020-11-22 00:56:16.14 UTC to 2020-12-23 00:56:16.14 UTC). In this case, we report a p-value of 1.0, consistent with no significant excess of track-like events, and a corresponding time-integrated muon-neutrino flux upper limit assuming an E^-2 spectrum (E^2 dN/dE) of
5.5 x 10^-5 TeV cm^-2 at the 90% CL.

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is a cubic-kilometer neutrino detector operating at the geographic South Pole, Antarctica. The IceCube realtime alert point of contact can be reached at roc at icecube.wisc.edu<mailto:roc at icecube.wisc.edu>.