The American Astronomical Society (AAS), established in 1899 and based in Washington, DC, is the major organization of professional astronomers in North America. Its membership of about 7,000 individuals also includes physicists, mathematicians, geologists, engineers, and others whose research and educational interests lie within the broad spectrum of subjects comprising contemporary astronomy. The mission of the AAS is to enhance and share humanity's scientific understanding of the universe.
The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a leading scientific society promoting physics and bringing physicists together for the benefit of all. It has a worldwide membership of around 50 000 comprising physicists from all sectors, as well as those with an interest in physics. It works to advance physics research, application and education; and engages with policy makers and the public to develop awareness and understanding of physics. Its publishing company, IOP Publishing, is a world leader in professional scientific communications.
Search for Neutrino-induced Cascades from Gamma-Ray Bursts with AMANDA
A. Achterberg1, M. Ackermann2, J. Adams3, J. Ahrens4, K. Andeen5, J. Auffenberg6, J. N. Bahcall7,8, X. Bai9, B. Baret10, S. W. Barwick11, R. Bay12, K. Beattie13, T. Becka4, J. K. Becker14, K.-H. Becker6, P. Berghaus15, D. Berley16, E. Bernardini2, D. Bertrand15, D. Z. Besson17, E. Blaufuss16, D. J. Boersma5, C. Bohm18, J. Bolmont2, S. Böser2, O. Botner19, A. Bouchta19, J. Braun5, C. Burgess18, T. Burgess18, T. Castermans20, D. Chirkin13, B. Christy16, J. Clem9, D. F. Cowen21,22, M. V. D'Agostino12, A. Davour19, C. T. Day13, C. De Clercq10, L. Demirörs9, F. Descamps23, P. Desiati5, T. DeYoung21, J. C. Diaz-Velez5, J. Dreyer14, J. P. Dumm5, M. R. Duvoort1, W. R. Edwards13, R. Ehrlich16, J. Eisch24, R. W. Ellsworth16, P. A. Evenson9, O. Fadiran25, A. R. Fazely26, K. Filimonov12, M. M. Foerster21, B. D. Fox21, A. Franckowiak6, T. K. Gaisser9, J. Gallagher27, R. Ganugapati5, H. Geenen6, L. Gerhardt11, A. Goldschmidt13, J. A. Goodman16, R. Gozzini4, T. Griesel4, S. Grullon5, A. Groß28, R. M. Gunasingha26, M. Gurtner6, A. Hallgren19, F. Halzen5, K. Han3, K. Hanson5, D. Hardtke12, R. Hardtke24, J. E. Hart21, Y. Hasegawa29, T. Hauschildt9, D. Hays13, J. Heise1, K. Helbing6, M. Hellwig4, P. Herquet20, G. C. Hill5, J. Hodges5, K. D. Hoffman16, B. Hommez23, K. Hoshina5, D. Hubert10, B. Hughey5, P. O. Hulth18, K. Hultqvist18, J.-P. Hülß30, S. Hundertmark18, M. Inaba29, A. Ishihara29, J. Jacobsen13, G. S. Japaridze25, H. Johansson18, A. Jones13, J. M. Joseph13, K.-H. Kampert6, T. Karg6, A. Karle5, H. Kawai29, J. L. Kelley5, N. Kitamura5, S. R. Klein13, S. Klepser2, G. Kohnen20, H. Kolanoski31, L. Köpke4, M. Kowalski31, T. Kowarik4, M. Krasberg5, K. Kuehn11, M. Labare15, H. Landsman5, H. Leich2, D. Leier14, I. Liubarsky32, J. Lundberg19, J. Lünemann14, J. Madsen24, K. Mase29, H. S. Matis13, T. McCauley13, C. P. McParland13, A. Meli14, T. Messarius14, P. Mészáros21,22, H. Miyamoto29, A. Mokhtarani13, T. Montaruli5,33, A. Morey12, R. Morse5, S. M. Movit22, K. Münich14, R. Nahnhauer2, J. W. Nam11, P. Nießen9, D. R. Nygren13, H. Ögelman5, A. Olivas16, S. Patton13, C. Peña-Garay7, C. Pérez de los Heros19, A. Piegsa4, D. Pieloth2, A. C. Pohl19,34, R. Porrata12, J. Pretz16, P. B. Price12, G. T. Przybylski13, K. Rawlins35, S. Razzaque21,22, E. Resconi28, W. Rhode14, M. Ribordy20, A. Rizzo10, S. Robbins6, P. Roth16, C. Rott21, D. Rutledge21, D. Ryckbosch23, H.-G. Sander4, S. Sarkar36, S. Schlenstedt2, T. Schmidt16, D. Schneider5, D. Seckel9, B. Semburg6, S. H. Seo21, S. Seunarine3, A. Silvestri11, A. J. Smith16, M. Solarz12, C. Song5, J. E. Sopher13, G. M. Spiczak24, C. Spiering2, M. Stamatikos5,37, T. Stanev9, P. Steffen2, T. Stezelberger13, R. G. Stokstad13, M. C. Stoufer13, S. Stoyanov9, E. A. Strahler5, T. Straszheim16, K.-H. Sulanke2, G. W. Sullivan16, T. J. Sumner32, I. Taboada12, O. Tarasova2, A. Tepe6, L. Thollander18, S. Tilav9, M. Tluczykont2, P. A. Toale21, D. Turčan16, N. van Eijndhoven1, J. Vandenbroucke12, A. Van Overloop23, V. Viscomi21, B. Voigt2, W. Wagner21, C. Walck18, H. Waldmann2, M. Walter2, Y.-R. Wang5, C. Wendt5, C. H. Wiebusch30, G. Wikström18, D. R. Williams21, R. Wischnewski2, H. Wissing30, K. Woschnagg12, X. W. Xu26, G. Yodh11, S. Yoshida29, and J. D. Zornoza5,38
Using the neutrino telescope AMANDA-II, we have conducted two analyses searching for neutrino-induced cascades from gamma-ray bursts. No evidence of astrophysical neutrinos was found, and limits are presented for several models. We also present neutrino effective areas which allow the calculation of limits for any neutrino production model. The first analysis looked for a statistical excess of events within a sliding window of 1 or 100 s (for short and long burst classes, respectively) during the years 2001-2003. The resulting upper limit on the diffuse flux normalization times E2 for the Waxman-Bahcall model at 1 PeV is 1.6 × 10-6 GeV cm-2 s-1 sr-1 (a factor of 120 above the theoretical prediction). For this search 90% of the neutrinos would fall in the energy range 50 TeV to 7 PeV. The second analysis looked for neutrino-induced cascades in coincidence with 73 bursts detected by BATSE in the year 2000. The resulting upper limit on the diffuse flux normalization times E2, also at 1 PeV, is 1.5 × 10-6 GeV cm-2 s-1 sr-1 (a factor of 110 above the theoretical prediction) for the same energy range. The neutrino-induced cascade channel is complementary to the up-going muon channel. We comment on its advantages for searches of neutrinos from GRBs and its future use with IceCube.