arXiv subjects

F. Halzen

Publications and source records attributed to F. Halzen.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2005

Lectures on High-Energy Neutrino Astronomy

Kilometer-scale neutrino detectors such as IceCube are discovery instruments covering nuclear and partile physics, cosmology and astronomy. Examples of their multidisciplinary mission include the search for the particle nature of dark matter and for additional small dimensions of space. In these lectures, we discuss the nature of cosmic neutrinos and their sources, the need for kilometer-scale detectors and the status and methodologies of current detectors.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2005

New evidence for the saturation of the Froissart bound

Fits to high energy data alone cannot cleanly discriminate between asymptotic $\ln s$ and $\ln^2s$ behavior of total hadronic cross sections. We demonstrate that this is no longer true when we require that these amplitudes also describe, on average, low energy data dominated by resonances.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2005

Physics Reach of High-Energy and High-Statistics IceCube Atmospheric Neutrino Data

This paper investigates the physics reach of the IceCube neutrino detector when it will have collected a data set of order one million atmospheric neutrinos with energies in the 0.1 \sim 10^4 TeV range. The paper consists of three parts. We first demonstrate how to simulate the detector performance using relatively simple analytic methods. Because of the high energies of the neutrinos, their oscillations, propagation in the Earth and regeneration due to τdecay must be treated in a coherent way. We set up the formalism to do this and discuss the implications. In a final section we apply the methods developed to evaluate the potential of IceCube to study new physics beyond neutrino oscillations. Not surprisingly, because of the increased energy and statistics over present experiments, existing bounds on violations of the equivalence principle and of Lorentz invariance can be improved by over two orders of magnitude. The methods developed can be readily applied to other non-conventional physics associated with neutrinos.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2005

High-Energy Neutrino Astronomy

Kilometer-scale neutrino detectors such as IceCube are discovery instruments covering nuclear and particle physics, cosmology and astronomy. Examples of their multidisciplinary missions include the search for the particle nature of dark matter and for additional small dimensions of space. In the end, their conceptual design is very much anchored to the observational fact that Nature accelerates protons and photons to energies in excess of 10^{20} and 10^{13} eV, respectively. The cosmic ray connection sets the scale of cosmic neutrino fluxes. In this context, we discuss the first results of the completed AMANDA detector and the reach of its extension, IceCube. Similar experiments are under construction in the Mediterranean. Neutrino astronomy is also expanding in new directions with efforts to detect air showers, acoustic and radio signals initiated by neutrinos with energies similar to those of the highest energy cosmic rays.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

Evidence for the saturation of the Froissart bound

It is well known that fits to high energy data cannot discriminate between asymptotic ln(s) and ln^2(s) behavior of total cross section. We show that this is no longer the case when we impose the condition that the amplitudes also describe, on average, low energy data dominated by resonances. We demonstrate this by fitting real analytic amplitudes to high energy measurements of the gamma p total cross section, for sqrt(s) > 4 GeV. We subsequently require that the asymptotic fit smoothly join the sqrt(s) = 2.01 GeV cross section described by Dameshek and Gilman as a sum of Breit-Wigner resonances. The results strongly favor the high energy ln^2(s) fit of the form sigma_{gamma p} = c_0 + c_1 ln(nu/m) + c_2 ln^2(nu/m) + beta_{P'}/sqrt(nu/m), basically excluding a ln(s) fit of the form sigma_{γp} = c_0 + c_1 ln(nu/m) + beta_P'/sqrt(ν/m), where nu is the laboratory photon energy. This evidence for saturation of the Froissart bound for gamma p interactions is confirmed by applying the same analysis to pi p data using vector meson dominance.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2004

High-Energy Neutrino Astronomy

Kilometer-scale neutrino detectors such as IceCube are discovery instruments covering nuclear and particle physics, cosmology and astronomy. Examples of their multidisciplinary missions include the search for the particle nature of dark matter and for additional small dimensions of space. In the end, their conceptual design is very much anchored to the observational fact that Nature accelerates protons and photons to energies in excess of $10^{20}$ and $10^{13}$ eV, respectively. The cosmic ray connection sets the scale of cosmic neutrino fluxes. In this context, we discuss the first results of the completed AMANDA detector and the reach of its extension, IceCube. Similar experiments are under construction in the Mediterranean. Neutrino astronomy is also expanding in new directions with efforts to detect air showers, acoustic and radio signals initiated by super-EeV neutrinos.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

High-Energy Neutrino Astronomy: from AMANDA to Icecube

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

Neutrinos From Individual Gamma-Ray Bursts in the BATSE Catalog

We calculate the neutrino emission from individual gamma-ray bursts observed by the BATSE detector on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory. Neutrinos are produced by photoproduction of pions when protons interact with photons in the region where the kinetic energy of the relativistic fireball is dissipated allowing the acceleration of electrons and protons. We also consider models where neutrinos are predominantly produced on the radiation surrounding the newly formed black hole. From the observed redshift and photon flux of each individual burst, we compute the neutrino flux in a variety of models based on the assumption that equal kinetic energy is dissipated into electrons and protons. Where not measured, the redshift is estimated by other methods. Unlike previous calculations of the universal diffuse neutrino flux produced by all gamma-ray bursts, the individual fluxes (compiled at http://www.arcetri.astro.it/~dafne/grb/) can be directly compared with coincident observations by the AMANDA telescope at the South Pole. Because of its large statistics, our predictions are likely to be representative for future observations with larger neutrino telescopes.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

SUSY In The Sky: Observing Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Neutralinos

In models where the ultra-high energy cosmic ray problem is solved by top-down scenarios, a significant flux of ultra-high energy neutralinos is predicted. We calculate the number of events expected from such particles in future experiments such as EUSO or OWL. We show that by using the Earth as a filter, showers generated by neutralinos can be separated from neutrino generated showers. We find that for many models, observable rates are expected.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2003

Multi-Messenger Astronomy: Cosmic Rays, Gamma-Rays, and Neutrinos

Although cosmic rays were discovered a century ago, we do not know where or how they are accelerated. There is a realistic hope that the oldest problem in astronomy will be solved soon by ambitious experimentation: air shower arrays of 10,000 kilometer-square area, arrays of air Cerenkov telescopes and kilometer- scale neutrino observatories. Their predecessors are producing science. We will review the highlights: - Cosmic rays: the highest energy particles and the GZK cutoff, the search for cosmic accelerators and the the Cygnus region, top-down mechanisms: photons versus protons? - TeV-energy gamma rays: blazars, how molecular clouds may have revealed proton beams, first hints of the diffuse infrared background? - Neutrinos: first results and proof of concept for technologies to construct kilometer-scale observatories.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

High-energy Neutrino Astronomy: Science and First Results

We introduce neutrino astronomy starting from the observational fact that Nature accelerates protons and photons to energies in excess of 10^{20} and 10^{13} eV, respectively. Although the discovery of cosmic rays dates back a century, we do not know how and where they are accelerated. We review the observations as well as speculations about the sources. Among these gamma ray bursts and active galaxies represent well-motivated speculations because these are also the sources of the highest energy gamma rays, with emission observed up to 20 TeV, possibly higher. We discuss why cosmic accelerators are expected to be cosmic beam dumps producing neutrino beams associated with the highest energy cosmic rays. Cosmic ray sources may produce neutrinos from MeV to EeV energy by a variety of mechanisms. The important conclusion is that, independently of the specific blueprint of the source, it takes a kilometer-scale neutrino observatory to detect the neutrino beam associated with the highest energy cosmic rays and gamma rays. The technology for commissioning such instrument has been established by the AMANDA detector at the South Pole. We review its performance and, with several thousand neutrinos collected, its first scientific results.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

Color Evaporation Description of Inelastic Photo-Production of J/ψat HERA

The H1 Collaboration recently reported a new analysis on the inelastic photo- production of J/ψmesons at DESY HERA ep collider. We show that these new experimental results are well described by the Color Evaporation Model for quarkonium production. Moreover, this new data requires the introduction of resolved photon contributions in order to explain the results on small charmonium energy fraction, indicating that colored c \bar{c} pairs also contribute to the process.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2002

High-Energy Neutrinos from Cosmic Rays

We introduce neutrino astronomy from the observational fact that Nature accelerates protons and photons to energies in excess of 10^{20} and 10^{13} eV, respectively. Although the discovery of cosmic rays dates back close to a century, we do not know how and where they are accelerated. We review the facts as well as the speculations about the sources. Among these gamma ray bursts and active galaxies represent well-motivated speculations because these are also the sources of the highest energy gamma rays, with emission observed up to 20 TeV, possibly higher. We discuss why cosmic accelerators are also expected to be cosmic beam dumps producing high-energy neutrino beams associated with the highest energy cosmic rays. Cosmic ray sources may produce neutrinos from MeV to EeV energy by a variety of mechanisms. The important conclusion is that, independently of the specific blueprint of the source, it takes a kilometer-scale neutrino observatory to detect the neutrino beam associated with the highest energy cosmic rays and gamma rays. The technology for commissioning such instruments exists.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

Neutrinos Associated With Cosmic Rays of Top-Down Origin

Top-down models of cosmic rays produce more neutrinos than photons and more photons than protons. In these models, we reevaluate the fluxes of neutrinos associated with the highest energy cosmic rays in light of mounting evidence that they are protons and not gamma rays. While proton dominance at EeV energies can possibly be achieved by efficient absorption of the dominant high-energy photon flux on universal and galactic photon and magnetic background fields, we show that the associated neutrino flux is inevitably increased to a level where it should be within reach of operating experiments such as AMANDA II, RICE and AGASA. In future neutrino telescopes, tens to a hundred, rather than a few neutrinos per kilometer squared per year, may be detected above 1 PeV.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2001

On Factorization, Quark Counting, and Vector Dominance

Using an eikonal structure for the scattering amplitude, Block and Kaidalov have derived factorization theorems for nucleon-nucleon, $γp$ and $γγ$ scattering at high energies, using only some very general assumptions. We present here an analysis giving experimental confirmation for factorization of cross sections, nuclear slope parameters B and $ρ$-values (ratio of real to imaginary portion of forward scattering amplitudes), showing that: i) the three factorization theorems hold, ii) the additive quark model holds to ~1%, and iii) vector dominance holds to better than ~4%.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2001

Phenomenology of High Energy Neutrinos in Low-Scale Quantum Gravity Models

We show that neutrino telescopes, optimized for detecting neutrinos of TeV to PeV energy, can reveal threshold effects associated with TeV-scale gravity. The signature is an increase with energy of the cross section beyond what is predicted by the Standard Model. The advantage of the method is that the neutrino cross section is measured in an energy region where i) the models are characteristically distinguishable and ii) the Standard Model neutrino cross section can be reliably calculated so that any deviation can be conclusively identified.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2001

The Highest Energy Cosmic Rays, Gamma Rays and Neutrinos: Facts, Fancy and Resolution

Although cosmic rays were discovered 90 years ago, we do not know how and where they are accelerated. There is compelling evidence that the highest energy cosmic rays are extra-galactic -- they cannot be contained by our galaxy's magnetic field anyway because their gyroradius exceeds its dimensions. Elementary elementary-particle physics dictates a universal upper limit on their energy of $5\times10^{19}$ eV, the so-called Greisen-Kuzmin-Zatsepin cutoff; however, particles in excess of this energy have been observed, adding one more puzzle to the cosmic ray mystery. Mystery is nonetheless fertile ground for progress: we will review the facts and mention some very speculative interpretations. There is indeed a realistic hope that the oldest problem in astronomy will be resolved soon by ambitious experimentation: air shower arrays of $10^4$ km$^2$ area, arrays of air Cerenkov detectors and kilometer-scale neutrino observatories.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2001

Soft Color Enhancement of the Production of J/psi's by Neutrinos

We calculate the production of J/psi mesons by neutrino-nucleon collisions in fixed target experiments. Soft color, often referred to as color evaporation effects, enhance production cross sections due to the contribution of color octet states. Though still small, J/ψproduction may be observable in present and future experiments like NuTeV and muon colliders.

hep-ph↗