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Xue-Rui Ouyang

Publications and source records attributed to Xue-Rui Ouyang.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

A high-energy neutrino flare associated with nearby bright interacting supernova SN 2021foa

While core-collapse supernovae have been widely discussed as potential neutrino sources, definitive observational evidence has remained elusive. In this work, we report evidence of high-energy neutrino emission in the direction of supernova SN 2021foa, which is one of the closest and brightest interacting supernovae observed to date. Using the second data release of muon track data from the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, we conducted a time-dependent analysis and identified a neutrino clustering that temporally coincides with the optical peak of SN 2021foa, occurring approximately 16 to 22 days after the discovery date, with a maximum test statistic of $\sim 28.2$. Monte Carlo simulations indicate that the probability of observing such a neutrino excess by chance is $\sim6.7 \times 10^{-5}$, corresponding to a significance of $\sim4.0\,\sigma$. The spatial and temporal correlation strongly suggests that the neutrinos originate from the supernova. SN 2021foa is a unique "flip-flop" supernova; its spectra repeatedly transitioned between hydrogen-rich (Type IIn) and helium-rich (Type Ibn) phases within 50 days post-peak, reflecting a violent and complex mass-loss history of its progenitor. The inferred neutrino energy exceeds the optical radiative energy and ejecta kinetic energy of the supernova by orders of magnitude, suggesting that the neutrino emission is likely powered by a delayed central engine driving a jet that is choked within the dense circumstellar medium.

astro-ph.HE

Constraints on neutrino emission and hadronic flux from 1LHAASO catalog $\gamma$-ray sources

IceCube has detected neutrino emission from the Galactic Plane (GP) at a significance of $4.5\sigma$, though its origin remains uncertain. Utilizing ten years of IceCube muon-track data, we investigate potential correlations between the GP neutrinos and $\gamma$-ray sources in the first LHAASO catalog (1LHAASO). To avoid issues caused by spectral extrapolation, this analysis focuses on sources detected by the Water Cherenkov Detector Array (WCDA). We employ an unbinned likelihood analysis to search for neutrino emission and constrain the hadronic $\gamma$-ray component of these sources. Neither single-source searches nor stacking analyses reveal significant neutrino signals. The stacking analysis indicates that the 1LHAASO WCDA population contributes at most $\sim$20\% to the diffuse GP neutrino flux measured by IceCube. The total hadronic contribution to the cumulative $\gamma$-ray emission from all WCDA sources is constrained to be at most $\sim$$60\%$, suggesting a predominantly leptonic origin for the $\gamma$-ray emission from the LHAASO source population. Even accounting for unresolved sources below the detection threshold, we estimate the total neutrino flux from all discrete sources (resolved plus unresolved) reaches at most about 40\% of the observed GP neutrino flux. These results support that the bulk of the GP neutrino emission is mainly from truly diffuse processes, i.e., cosmic-ray interactions with the interstellar medium, rather than from unresolved point sources.

astro-ph.HE

Investigating the Correlation between ZTF Tidal Disruption Events and IceCube High-energy Neutrinos

Investigating the correlation between the TDE population and IceCube neutrinos could help us better understand whether TDEs could be potential high-energy neutrino emitters. In this paper, we perform a systematic search for TDEs that are associated with neutrinos in a sample including 143 IceCube neutrino alert events and 52 TDEs classified by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) - Bright Transient Survey (BTS). Furthermore, considering that the TDEs/TDE candidates reported as potential IceCube neutrino emitters are all accompanied by infrared (IR) echo emissions, we further select the TDEs with IR echoes from these 52 TDEs as a subsample to examine the correlation with neutrinos. Based on the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission database, seven TDEs are identified as having IR echoes. Then we employ Monte Carlo simulations to quantify the correlation between the TDE sample/subsample and IceCube neutrinos. Finally, after considering spatial and temporal criteria, the seven TDEs with IR echoes show the most significant correlation at a 2.46$\sigma$ confidence level. If we tentatively further take the time delay factor into account, the correlation enhances to a 2.66$\sigma$ confidence level. The correlation is primarily contributed by two TDEs: AT2019dsg and AT2019azh. The latter's association with a neutrino alert, IC230217A, is newly reported in this work. We discussed the possible physical connection between AT2019azh and the neutrino event IC230217A.

astro-ph.HE