Measuring the Astrophysical 𝝂 : 𝝂¯ Ratio with IceCube
Recent measurements of astrophysical neutrinos have expanded our understanding of their nature and origin. However, very little is still known about the astrophysical $\nu/\bar{\nu}$ ratio. The only prior measurement is the recent, single Glashow event seen by IceCube. Understanding the astrophysical $\nu/\bar{\nu}$ ratio has a bearing on multiple questions, including the astrophysical spectral shape and neutrino production mechanisms. This analysis uses a new approach to measuring the astrophysical muon $\nu/\bar{\nu}$ ratio at various energies. It uses inelasticity, the fraction of the initial neutrino energy carried away by the hadronic shower. Inelasticity probes the $\nu/\bar{\nu}$ ratio due to the fact that at energies below roughly 100 TeV, valence quarks dominate in deep inelastic scattering interactions, leading to different neutrino and antineutrino inelasticities and cross-sections. We use 10.3 years of IceCube data consisting of starting tracks at energies between 1 TeV and 1 PeV with a self-veto selection that enhances astrophysical event purity in the down-going direction. Based on this sample and analysis method, we present the first measurement of the astrophysical $\nu/\bar{\nu}$ ratio at sub-PeV energies.
Authors
- Barbara Skrzypek (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0910-1057)
Publication Details
- Published
- 2025-09-25
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.22323/1.501.1181
- Primary Topic
- Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- U.S. Department of Energy
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Nvidia
- Michigan State University
- Villum Fonden
- Polarforskningssekretariatet
- Marquette University
- Western Canada Research Grid
- European Commission
- National Research Foundation
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
- Fonds De La Recherche Scientifique - FNRS
- Belgian Federal Science Policy Office
- Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
- National Research Foundation of Korea
- Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse
- VetenskapsrĂĄdet
- RWTH Aachen University
- Chiba University
- Helmholtz Alliance for Astroparticle Physics
- Alliance de recherche numérique du Canada
- College of Engineering, Michigan State University
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
- Marsden Fund
- Institute for Global Prominent Research, Chiba University
- Office of Polar Programs
- Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure
- Office of Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research