arXiv subjects

Kumiko Kotera

Publications and source records attributed to Kumiko Kotera.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Astrophysics Uniquely Enabled by Observations of High-Energy Cosmic Neutrinos

High-energy cosmic neutrinos carry unique information about the most energetic non-thermal sources in the Universe. This white paper describes the outstanding astrophysics questions that neutrino astronomy can address in the coming decade. A companion white paper discusses how the observation of cosmic neutrinos can address open questions in fundamental physics. Detailed measurements of the diffuse neutrino flux, measurements of neutrinos from point sources, and multi-messenger observations with neutrinos will enable the discovery and characterization of the most energetic sources in the Universe.

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arXiv2019

Fundamental Physics with High-Energy Cosmic Neutrinos

High-energy cosmic neutrinos can reveal new fundamental particles and interactions, probing energy and distance scales far exceeding those accessible in the laboratory. This white paper describes the outstanding particle physics questions that high-energy cosmic neutrinos can address in the coming decade. A companion white paper discusses how the observation of cosmic neutrinos can address open questions in astrophysics. Tests of fundamental physics using high-energy cosmic neutrinos will be enabled by detailed measurements of their energy spectrum, arrival directions, flavor composition, and timing.

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arXiv2019

Multimessenger Implications of AT2018cow: High-Energy Cosmic Ray and Neutrino Emissions from Magnetar-Powered Super-Luminous Transients

Newly-born, rapidly-spinning magnetars have been invoked as the power sources of super-luminous transients, including the class of "fast-luminous optical transients" (FBOTs). The extensive multi-wavelength analysis of AT2018cow, the first FBOT discovered in real time, is consistent with the magnetar scenario and offers an unprecedented opportunity to comprehend the nature of these sources and assess their broader implications. Using AT2018cow as a prototype, we investigate high-energy neutrino and cosmic ray production from FBOTs and the more general class of superluminous supernovae (SLSNe). By calculating the interaction of cosmic rays and the time-evolving radiation field and baryon background, we find that particles accelerated in the magnetar wind may escape the ejecta at ultrahigh energies (UHE). The predicted high-energy neutrino fluence from AT2018cow is below the sensitivity of the IceCube Observatory, and estimates of the cosmically-integrated neutrino flux from FBOTs are consistent with the extreme-high-energy upper limits posed by IceCube. High-energy $γ$ rays exceeding GeV energies are obscured for the first months to years by thermal photons in the magnetar nebula, but are potentially observable at later times. Given also their potentially higher volumetric rate compared to other engine-powered transients (e.g. SLSNe and gamma-ray bursts), we conclude that FBOTs are favorable targets for current and next-generation multi-messenger observatories.

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arXiv2019

Cosmogenic photon and neutrino fluxes in the Auger era

The interaction of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) with pervasive photon fields generates associated cosmogenic fluxes of neutrinos and photons due to photohadronic and photonuclear processes taking place in the intergalactic medium. We perform a fit of the UHECR spectrum and composition measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory for four source emissivity scenarios: power-law redshift dependence with one free parameter, active galactic nuclei, gamma-ray bursts, and star formation history. We show that negative source emissivity evolution is favoured if we treat the source evolution as a free parameter. In all cases, the best fit is obtained for relatively hard spectral indices and low maximal rigidities, for compositions at injection dominated by intermediate nuclei (nitrogen and silicon groups). In light of these results, we calculate the associated fluxes of neutrinos and photons. Finally, we discuss the prospects for the future generation of high-energy neutrino and gamma-ray observatories to constrain the sources of UHECRs.

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arXiv2018

Radio Morphing - towards a fast computation of the radio signal from air-showers

Over the last decades, radio detection of air showers has been established as a promising detection technique for ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays and neutrinos. Very large or dense antenna arrays are necessary to be proficient at collecting information about these particles and understanding their properties accurately. The exploitation of such arrays requires to run massive air-shower simulations to evaluate the radio signal at each antenna position, taking into account features such as the ground topology. In order to reduce computational costs, we have developed a fast computation of the emitted radio signal on the basis of generic shower simulations, called Radio Morphing. The method consists in the calculation of the radio signal of any air-shower by i) a scaling of the electric-field amplitude of a reference air shower to the target shower, ii) an isometry on the simulated positions and iii) an interpolation of the radio pulse at the desired position. This technique enables one to gain many orders of magnitude in CPU time compared to a standard computation. In this contribution, we present this novel tool and explain its methodology. In particular, Radio Morphing will be a key element for the simulation chain of the Giant Radio Array for Neutrino Detection (GRAND) project, that aims at detecting ultra-high-energy neutrinos with an array of 200 000 radio antennas in mountainous regions.os with an array of 200 000 radio antennas in mountainous regions.

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arXiv2018

Radio Morphing - towards a full parametrisation of the radio signal from air showers

Over the last decades, radio detection of air showers has been established as a detection technique for ultra-high-energy cosmic-rays impinging on the Earth's atmosphere with energies far beyond LHC energies. Today's second-generation of digital radio-detection experiments, as e.g. AERA or LOFAR, are becoming competitive in comparison to already standard techniques e.g. fluorescence light detection. Thanks to a detailed understanding of the physics of the radio emission in extensive air showers, simulations of the radio signal are already successfully tested and applied in the reconstruction of cosmic rays. However, the limits of the computational power resources are easily reached when it comes to computing electric fields at the numerous positions requested by large or dense antenna arrays. In the case of mountainous areas as e.g. for the GRAND array, where 3D shower simulations are necessary, the problem arises with even stronger acuity. Therefore we developed a full parametrisation of the emitted radio signal on the basis of generic shower simulations which will reduce the simulation time by orders of magnitudes. In this talk we will present this concept after a short introduction to the concept of the radio detection of air-shower induced by cosmic rays.

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arXiv2018

IMAGINE: A comprehensive view of the interstellar medium, Galactic magnetic fields and cosmic rays

In this white paper we introduce the IMAGINE Consortium and its scientific background, goals and structure. Our purpose is to coordinate and facilitate the efforts of a diverse group of researchers in the broad areas of the interstellar medium, Galactic magnetic fields and cosmic rays, and our goal is to develop more comprehensive insights into the structures and roles of interstellar magnetic fields and their interactions with cosmic rays. To achieve a higher level of self-consistency, depth and rigour can only be achieved by the coordinated efforts of experts in diverse areas of astrophysics involved in observational, theoretical and numerical work. We present our view of the present status of this topic, identify its key unsolved problems and suggest a strategy that will underpin our work. The backbone of the consortium is the Interstellar MAGnetic field INference Engine, a publicly available Bayesian platform that employs robust statistical methods to explore the multi-dimensional likelihood space using any number of modular inputs. It provides an interpretation and modelling framework that has the power and flexibility to include a variety of observational, theoretical and numerical lines of evidence into a self-consistent and comprehensive picture of the thermal and non-thermal interstellar media. An important innovation is that a consistent understanding of the phenomena that are directly or indirectly influenced by the Galactic magnetic field, such as the deflection of ultra-high energy cosmic rays or extragalactic backgrounds, is made an integral part of the modelling. The IMAGINE Consortium, which is informal by nature and open to new participants, hereby presents a methodological framework for the modelling and understanding of Galactic magnetic fields that is available to all communities whose research relies on a state-of-the-art solution to this problem. (Abridged.)

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arXiv2018

Pevatron at the Galactic Center: Multi-Wavelength Signatures from Millisecond Pulsars

Diffuse TeV emission has been observed by H.E.S.S. in the Galactic Center region, in addition to the GeV gamma rays observed by Fermi. We propose that a population of unresolved millisecond pulsars located around the Galactic Center, suggested as possible candidates for the diffuse Galactic Center excess observed by Fermi, accelerate cosmic rays up to very high energies, and are thus also responsible for the TeV excess. We model analytically the diffusion of these accelerated protons and their interaction with the molecular clouds, producing gamma rays. The spatial and spectral dependences of the gamma rays produced can reproduce the H.E.S.S. observations, for a population of $\sim 10^4-10^5$ millisecond pulsars above the cosmic-ray luminosity $10^{34}\,{\rm erg\,s}^{-1}$, with moderate acceleration efficiency. More precise measurements at the highest energies would allow us to constrain the properties of the pulsar population, such as the magnetic field or initial spin distributions.

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arXiv2018

Search for gamma-ray emission from super-luminous supernovae with the Fermi-LAT

We present the first individual and stacking systematic search for $γ$-ray emission in the GeV band with the {\it Fermi} Large Area Telescope (LAT), in the directions of 45 super-luminous supernovae (SLSNe). No excess of \gam rays from the SLSN positions was found. We report $γ$-ray luminosity upper limits and discuss the implication of these results on the origin of SLSNe in particular on the scenario of central compact object-aided SNe. From the stacking search, we derive an upper limit at 95\% confidence level (CL) to the $γ$-ray luminosity (above 600 MeV) $L_γ<9.1\times10^{41}$\,erg\,s$^{-1}$ for an assumed $E^{-2}$ photon spectrum, for our full SLSN sample. We conclude that the rate of the neutron stars born with millisecond rotation periods {$P\lesssim 2\,$ms and $B\sim10^{12-13}\,$G} must be lower than the rate of the observed SLSNe. The luminosity limits obtained on individual sources are also constraining: in particular, SN2013fc, CSS140222, SN2010kd, and PTF12dam can be born with millisecond periods only if $B\lesssim 10^{13}\,$G.

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arXiv2017

The Giant Radio Array for Neutrino Detection (GRAND): Present and Perspectives

The Giant Radio Array for Neutrino Detection (GRAND) aims at detecting ultra-high energy extraterrestrial neutrinos via the extensive air showers induced by the decay of tau leptons created in the interaction of neutrinos under the Earth's surface. Consisting of an array of $\sim10^5$ radio antennas deployed over $\sim 2\times10^5\,\rm {km}^2$, GRAND plans to reach, for the first time, an all-flavor sensitivity of $\sim1.5\times10^{-10} \,\rm GeV\, cm^{-2} \,s^{-1}\, sr^{-1}$ above $5\times10^{17}$ eV and a sub-degree angular resolution, beyond the reach of other planned detectors. We describe here preliminary designs and simulation results, plans for the ongoing, staged approach to the construction of GRAND, and the rich research program made possible by GRAND's design sensitivity and angular resolution.

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arXiv2017

Can we observe neutrino flares in coincidence with explosive transients?

The new generation of powerful instruments is reaching sensitivities and temporal resolutions that will allow multi-messenger astronomy of explosive transient phenomena, with high-energy neutrinos as a central figure. We derive general criteria for the detectability of neutrinos from powerful transient sources, for given instrument sensitivities. In practice, we provide the minimal photon flux necessary for neutrino detection based on two main observables, the bolometric luminosity and the time variability of the emission. This limit can be compared to the observations in specified wavelengths in order to target the most promising sources for follow-ups. Our criteria can also help discriminating false associations of neutrino events with a flaring source. We find that relativistic transient sources such as High- and Low-Luminosity GRBs, Blazar flares, Tidal Disruption Events and magnetar flares could be observed with IceCube, as they have a good chance to occur within a detectable distance. Among non-relativistic transient sources, only luminous supernovae appear as promising candidates. We caution that our criterion should not be directly applied to low-luminosity GRBs and Type Ibc supernovae, as these objects could have hosted a choked GRB, leading to neutrino emission without a relevant counterpart radiation. We treat a set of concrete examples and show that several transients, some of which are being monitored by IceCube, are far from meeting the criterion for detectability (e.g., Crab flares or Swift J1644+57).

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arXiv2017

The Giant Radio Array for Neutrino Detection

The Giant Radio Array for Neutrino Detection (GRAND) is a planned array of ~200 000 radio antennas deployed over ~200 000 km2 in a mountainous site. It aims primarly at detecting high-energy neutrinos via the observation of extensive air showers induced by the decay in the atmosphere of taus produced by the interaction of cosmic neutrinos under the Earth surface. GRAND aims at reaching a neutrino sensitivity of 5.10$^{11}$ E$^{-2}$ GeV$^{-1}$cm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$sr$^{-1}$ above 3.10$^{16}$ eV. This ensures the detection of cosmogenic neutrinos in the most pessimistic source models, and ~50 events per year are expected for the standard models. The instrument will also detect UHECRs and possibly FRBs. Here we show how our preliminary design should enable us to reach our sensitivity goals, and discuss the steps to be taken to achieve GRAND.

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arXiv2016

Identifying Ultrahigh-Energy Cosmic-Ray Accelerators with Future Ultrahigh-Energy Neutrino Detectors

The detection of ultrahigh-energy (UHE) neutrino sources would contribute significantly to solving the decades-old mystery of the origin of the highest-energy cosmic rays. We investigate the ability of a future UHE neutrino detector to identify the brightest neutrino point sources, by exploring the parameter space of the total number of observed events and the angular resolution of the detector. The favored parameter region can be translated to requirements for the effective area, sky coverage and angular resolution of future detectors, for a given source number density and evolution history. Moreover, by studying the typical distance to sources that are expected to emit more than one event for a given diffuse neutrino flux, we find that a significant fraction of the identifiable UHE neutrino sources may be located in the nearby Universe if the source number density is above $\sim10^{-6}\,\rm Mpc^{-3}$. If sources are powerful and rare enough, as predicted in blazar scenarios, they can first be detected at distant locations. Our result also suggests that if UHE cosmic-ray accelerators are neither beamed nor transients, it will be possible to associate the detected UHE neutrino sources with nearby UHE cosmic-ray and gamma-ray sources, and that they may also be observed using other messengers, including ones with limited horizons such as TeV gamma rays, UHE gamma rays and cosmic rays. We find that for a $\gtrsim5σ$ detection of UHE neutrino sources with a uniform density, $n_s\sim{10}^{-7}-{10}^{-5}~{\rm Mpc}^{-3}$, at least $\sim100-1000$ events and sub-degree angular resolution are needed, and the results depend on the source evolution model.

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arXiv2016

The Highest-Energy Cosmic Rays Cannot be Dominantly Protons from Steady Sources

The bulk of observed ultrahigh energy cosmic rays could be light or heavier elements, and originate from an either steady or transient population of sources. This leaves us with four general categories of sources. Energetic requirements set a lower limit on single source luminosities, while the distribution of particle arrival directions in the sky sets a lower limit on the source number density. The latter constraint depends on the angular smearing in the skymap due to the magnetic deflections of the charged particles during their propagation from the source to the Earth. We contrast these limits with the luminosity functions from surveys of existing luminous steady objects in the nearby universe, and strongly constrain one of the four categories of source models, namely, steady proton sources. The possibility that cosmic rays with energy $> 8\times 10^{19}\,$eV are dominantly pure protons coming from steady sources is excluded at 95\% confidence level, under the safe assumption that protons experience less than $30^\circ$ magnetic deflection on flight.

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arXiv2016

Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Rays and Black Hole Mergers

The recent detection of the gravitational wave source GW150914 by the LIGO collaboration motivates a speculative source for the origin of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays as a possible byproduct of the immense energies achieved in black hole mergers, provided that the black holes have spin as seems inevitable and there are relic magnetic fields and disk debris remaining from the formation of the black holes or from their accretion history. We argue that given the modest efficiency $< 0.01$ required per event per unit of gravitational wave energy release, merging black holes potentially provide an environment for accelerating cosmic rays to ultrahigh energies.

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arXiv2016

Do asteroids evaporate near pulsars? Induction heating by pulsar waves revisited

We investigate the evaporation of close-by pulsar companions, such as planets, asteroids, and white dwarfs, by induction heating. Assuming that the outflow energy is dominated by a Poynting flux (or pulsar wave) at the location of the companions, we calculate their evaporation timescales, by applying the Mie theory. Depending on the size of the companion compared to the incident electromagnetic wavelength, the heating regime varies and can lead to a total evaporation of the companion. In particular, we find that inductive heating is mostly inefficient for small pulsar companions, although it is generally considered the dominant process. Small objects like asteroids can survive induction heating for $10^4\,$years at distances as small as $1\,R_\odot$ from the neutron star. For degenerate companions, induction heating cannot lead to evaporation and another source of heating (likely by kinetic energy of the pulsar wind) has to be considered. It was recently proposed that bodies orbiting pulsars are the cause of fast radio bursts; the present results explain how those bodies can survive in the pulsar's highly energetic environment.

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arXiv2016

IceCube Constraints on Fast-Spinning Pulsars as High-Energy Neutrino Sources

Relativistic winds of fast-spinning pulsars have been proposed as a potential site for cosmic-ray acceleration from very high energies (VHE) to ultrahigh energies (UHE). We re-examine conditions for high-energy neutrino production, considering the interaction of accelerated particles with baryons of the expanding supernova ejecta and the radiation fields in the wind nebula. We make use of the current IceCube sensitivity in diffusive high-energy neutrino background, in order to constrain the parameter space of the most extreme neutron stars as sources of VHE and UHE cosmic rays. We demonstrate that the current non-observation of $10^{18}$ eV neutrinos put stringent constraints on the pulsar scenario. For a given model, birthrates, ejecta mass and acceleration efficiency of the magnetar sources can be constrained. When we assume a proton cosmic ray composition and spherical supernovae ejecta, we find that the IceCube limits almost exclude their significant contribution to the observed UHE cosmic-ray flux. Furthermore, we consider scenarios where a fraction of cosmic rays can escape from jet-like structures piercing the ejecta, without significant interactions. Such scenarios would enable the production of UHE cosmic rays and help remove the tension between their EeV neutrino production and the observational data.

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arXiv2016

Testing the Newborn Pulsar Origin of Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Rays with EeV Neutrinos

Fast-spinning newborn pulsars are intriguing candidate sources of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). The acceleration of particles with a given composition in a fraction of the extragalactic pulsar population can give a consistent explanation for the measurements of the Auger Observatory. We calculate the associated diffuse neutrino flux produced while particles cross the supernova ejecta surrounding the stars. We show that in the minimal pulsar scenario that are compatible with the UHECR data, the effective optical depth to hadronuclear interactions is larger than unity at ultrahigh energies. Thus, even in the most pessimistic case, one expects energy fluxes of $\sim 0.1 - 1 \,\rm EeV$ neutrinos that should be detectable with IceCube or Askaryan Radio Array within a decade.

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