Determining the fraction of cosmic-ray protons at ultrahigh energies with cosmogenic neutrinos

Autor(es)

van Vliet, Arjen ^{[1, 2]} ; Batist, Rafael Alves ^[3] ; Horandel, Jorg R. ^{[1, 4, 5]}

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Radboud Univ Nijmegen, Dept Astrophys, IMAPP, POB 9010, NL-6500 GL Nijmegen - Netherlands

^[2] DESY, Platanenallee 6, D-15738 Zeuthen - Germany

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Astron Geofis & Ciencias Atmos, Rua Matao 1226, BR-05508090 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[4] NIKHEF, Sci Pk Amsterdam, NL-1098 XG Amsterdam - Netherlands

^[5] Vrije Univ Brussel, Dept Phys & Astron, B-1050 Brussels - Belgium

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Physical Review D; v. 100, n. 2 JUL 17 2019.
• Citações Web of Science: 4

Resumo

Cosmogenic neutrinos are produced when ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) interact with cosmological photon fields. Limits on the diffuse flux of these neutrinos can be used to constrain the fraction of protons arriving at Earth with energies E-p greater than or similar to 30 EeV, thereby providing bounds on the composition of UHECRs without fully relying on hadronic interaction models. We show to which extent current neutrino telescopes already constrain this fraction of protons and discuss the prospects for next-generation detectors to further constrain it. Additionally, we discuss the implications of these limits for several popular candidates for UHECR source classes. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 17/12828-4 - Difusão, aceleração e propagação de raios cósmicos em ambientes astrofísicos turbulentos
• Beneficiário: Rafael Alves Batista
• Linha de fomento: Bolsas no Brasil - Pós-Doutorado