Measuring flavor ratios of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos

John F. Beacom, Nicole F. Bell, Dan Hooper, Sandip Pakvasa, and Thomas J. Weiler
Phys. Rev. D 68, 093005 – Published 11 November 2003; Erratum Phys. Rev. D 72, 019901 (2005)
PDFExport Citation

Abstract

We discuss the prospects for next generation neutrino telescopes, such as IceCube, to measure the flavor ratios of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos. The expected flavor ratios at the sources are φνe:φνμ:φντ=1:2:0, and neutrino oscillations quickly transform these to 1:1:1. The flavor ratios can be deduced from the relative rates of showers (νe charged current, most ντ charged current, and all flavors neutral current), muon tracks (νμ charged current only), and tau lepton lollipops and double bangs (ντ charged current only). The peak sensitivities for these interactions are at different neutrino energies, but the flavor ratios can be reliably connected by a reasonable measurement of the spectrum shape. Measurement of the astrophysical neutrino flavor ratios tests the assumed production mechanism and also provides a very long baseline test of a number of exotic scenarios, including neutrino decay, CPT violation, and small-δm2 oscillations to sterile neutrinos.

  • Received 1 July 2003

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.68.093005

©2003 American Physical Society

Erratum

Erratum: Measuring flavor ratios of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos [Phys. Rev. D 68, 093005 (2003)]

John F. Beacom, Nicole F. Bell, Dan Hooper, Sandip Pakvasa, and Thomas J. Weiler
Phys. Rev. D 72, 019901 (2005)

Authors & Affiliations

John F. Beacom1,*, Nicole F. Bell1,2,†, Dan Hooper3,‡, Sandip Pakvasa4,2,§, and Thomas J. Weiler5,2,∥

  • 1NASA/Fermilab Astrophysics Center, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, Illinois 60510-0500, USA
  • 2Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
  • 3Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA
  • 4Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA
  • 5Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, USA

  • *Electronic address: beacom@fnal.gov
  • Electronic address: nfb@fnal.gov
  • Electronic address: hooper@pheno.physics.wisc.edu
  • §Electronic address: pakvasa@phys.hawaii.edu
  • Electronic address: tom.weiler@vanderbilt.edu

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 68, Iss. 9 — 1 November 2003

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review D

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×