arXiv subjects

Leo Seen

Publications and source records attributed to Leo Seen.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

The Galactic Neutrino Sky: Predictions from Gamma-ray Source Populations

High-energy neutrino emission from the Galactic plane has been detected at a significance of $5.7\sigma$, with a prominent excess toward the inner Galaxy. We show that this excess can be naturally explained by the spatial distribution of Galactic neutrino sources. By combining $\gamma$-ray source catalogs spanning GeV-PeV energies and selecting candidate hadronic emitters, we construct ReGal-$\gamma$, a template of resolved Galactic $\gamma$-ray sources that may also produce high-energy neutrinos. Compared with models of Galactic diffuse emission, ReGal-$\gamma$ predicts a neutrino intensity that is more strongly concentrated toward the inner Galaxy. Combined with models of diffuse cosmic-ray emission and unresolved $\gamma$-ray sources, the template reproduces both the spectral energy distribution and the Galactic longitudinal count profile reported by IceCube without requiring additional renormalization of the emission models. We test this result using an independent $\gamma$-ray source template constructed from different catalogs and find that our conclusion is robust against uncertainties in source modeling. Future measurements of the energy-dependent longitudinal and latitudinal neutrino distributions will provide tighter constraints on these models and help determine the spatial distribution of Galactic neutrino sources.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Measuring the Astrophysical Galactic Plane Neutrino Flux and Searching for Galactic PeVatrons using the IceCube Multi-Flavor Astrophysical Neutrino Sample

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory has provided new insights into the high-energy universe, in particular, unveiling neutrinos from the galactic plane. However, galactic neutrino sources are still unresolved. The recent detection of multi-PeV photons by LHAASO from the Cygnus region highlights its potential as a galactic neutrino source. Additionally, LHAASO, HAWC, and HESS have reported over forty galactic gamma-ray sources with energies above 100 TeV. Detecting neutrinos correlated with high-energy gamma-ray sources would provide compelling evidence of cosmic-ray acceleration in these galactic sources. In this work, we compile a 12.3-year, full-sky, all-flavor dataset, the IceCube Multi-Flavor Astrophysics Neutrino sample (ICEMAN). ICEMAN is the combination of three largely independent neutrino samples of different event morphologies and builds upon the previous work of the DNN-based cascade sample, Enhanced Starting Track Event Selection, and the Northern Track sample. Recent improvements in ice modeling and detector calibration are also incorporated into the cascade reconstruction. In addition to revisiting the galactic plane, we adopt two different analysis methods to search for galactic PeVatrons. First, we use a template-based approach to probe the Cygnus Cocoon region. Second, we use a point source hypothesis to find correlations between IceCube neutrinos and gamma-ray sources detected at energies greater than 100 TeV.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Enhancing searches for astrophysical neutrino sources in IceCube with machine learning and improved spatial modeling

Searches for astrophysical neutrino sources in IceCube rely on an unbinned likelihood that consists of an energy and spatial component. Accurate modeling of the detector, ice, and spatial distributions leads to improved directional and energy reconstructions, resulting in increased sensitivity. In this work, we utilize our best knowledge of the detector ice properties and detector calibrations to reconstruct in-ice particle showers. The spatial component of the likelihood is parameterized either by a 2D Gaussian or a von Mises Fisher (vMF) distribution at small and large angular uncertainties, respectively. Here, we use a gradient-boosted decision tree with a vMF spatial likelihood loss function, reparameterized through two coordinate transformations, to predict per-event point spread functions (PSF). Additionally, we discuss the search for PeV cosmic ray sources using the IceCube Multi-Flavor Astrophysical Neutrino (ICEMAN) sample. Our search contains both an analysis of individual neutrino sources coincident with greater than 100 TeV gamma-ray sources and also a stacking analysis. We outline the prospects for extended neutrino emission originating from the Cygnus Cocoon region.

astro-ph.HE↗