Flavor revolution at ICECUBE horizons?

Abstract

Recently (May-November 2013) highest energy neutrino events have been presented by ICECUBE. Most (21) of all these (28) events are cascades shower whose flux exhibits a sharp hardening respect other lower energy atmospheric neutrino component, events suggesting an injection of extraterrestrial neutrino, mostly nu e, nu tau, making cascades. ICECUBE claimed that a component (10:6+5:0 3:6), a third, of these events must be a trace of expected downward muons and-or atmospheric neutrinos (muon track dominated): The probability that this scenario occurs is very poor, about 0.1- 0.5%. The paradox might be mitigate as we suggest if nearly all of the 28 events are originated by extraterrestrial sources arriving to us in de-coherent states. At first sight also a partial solution may rise if highest energy events at E nu > 60 TeV ( 17 showering versus 4 muon tracks) are mostly of extraterrestrial nature. However this solution leaves problematic the earlier 30 - 60 TeV energy region, whose 8 showers versus 3 tracks is in tension with most nearby atmospheric neutrino signals, by a sharp difference at TeV energy ruled (as shown in Deep Core) by ten over one neutrino (muon) events over showers. This puzzling (fast) flavor transition from atmospheric nu muon flux at TeV to tens TeV showers and muon neutrino absence has deep consequences. Few cascades shower events in Antares might also test the nu flavor changes above TeVs up to a rare one at few tens TeV signal. Higher energy EeV tau air-shower induced by UHE nu tau within mountains or Earth skin while skimming terrestrial ground as AUGER arrays might be still rare, but the correlated horizontal upward PeVs tau air-shower may soon shine into ASHRA crown telescopes at mountain edges by their Cherenkov flashes.