Observation of seasonal variations of the flux of high-energy atmospheric neutrinos with IceCube
Journal article, 2023
Atmospheric muon neutrinos are produced by meson decays in cosmic-ray-induced air showers. The flux depends on meteorological quantities such as the air temperature, which affects the density of air. Competition between decay and re-interaction of those mesons in the first particle production generations gives rise to a higher neutrino flux when the air density in the stratosphere is lower, corresponding to a higher temperature. A measurement of a temperature dependence of the atmospheric νμ flux provides a novel method for constraining hadronic interaction models of air showers. It is particularly sensitive to the production of kaons. Studying this temperature dependence for the first time requires a large sample of high-energy neutrinos as well as a detailed understanding of atmospheric properties. We report the significant (>10σ) observation of a correlation between the rate of more than 260,000 neutrinos, detected by IceCube between 2012 and 2018, and atmospheric temperatures of the stratosphere, measured by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument aboard NASA’s AQUA satellite. For the observed 10 % seasonal change of effective atmospheric temperature we measure a 3.5(3) % change in the muon neutrino flux. This observed correlation deviates by about 2-3 standard deviations from the expected correlation of 4.3 % as obtained from theoretical predictions under the assumption of various hadronic interaction models.
Author
R. Abbasi
Loyola University of Chicago
M. Ackermann
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
J. Adams
University of Canterbury
S. K. Agarwalla
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
N. Aggarwal
University of Alberta
J.A. Aguilar
Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
M. Ahlers
Niels Bohr Institute
J. M. Alameddine
Technische Universität Dortmund
N.M. Amin
University of Delaware
K. Andeen
Marquette University
G. Anton
University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU)
C. Argüelles
Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Y. Ashida
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
S. Athanasiadou
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
S. N. Axani
University of Delaware
X. Bai
South Dakota School of Mines & Technology
A. V. Balagopal
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
M. Baricevic
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
S.W. Barwick
University of California at Irvine (UCI)
V. Basu
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
R. Bay
University of California
J.J. Beatty
Ohio State University
K.-H. Becker
Bergische Universität Wuppertal
Julia Tjus
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Astronomy and Plasmaphysics
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
J. Beise
Uppsala University
C. Bellenghi
Technical University of Munich
S. Benzvi
University of Rochester
D. Berley
University of Maryland
E. Bernardini
University of Padua
D. Z. Besson
University of Kansas
G. Binder
University of California
D. Bindig
Bergische Universität Wuppertal
E. Blaufuss
University of Maryland
S. Blot
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
F. Bontempo
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
J. Y. Book
Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
J. Borowka
RWTH Aachen University
C. Boscolo Meneguolo
University of Padua
S. Böser
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
O. Botner
Uppsala University
J. Böttcher
RWTH Aachen University
E. Bourbeau
Niels Bohr Institute
J. Braun
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
B. Brinson
Georgia Institute of Technology
J. Brostean-Kaiser
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
R. T. Burley
University of Adelaide
R.S. Busse
University of Münster
D. Butterfield
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
M.A. Campana
Drexel University
K. Carloni
Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
E. G. Carnie-Bronca
University of Adelaide
S. Chattopadhyay
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
C. Chen
Georgia Institute of Technology
Z. Chen
Stony Brook University
D. Chirkin
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
S. Choi
Sungkyunkwan University
B.A. Clark
University of Maryland
L. Classen
University of Münster
A. Coleman
Uppsala University
G.H. Collin
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
A. Connolly
Ohio State University
J.M. Conrad
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
P. Coppin
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
P. Correa
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
S. Countryman
Columbia University
D. F. Cowen
Pennsylvania State University
C. Dappen
RWTH Aachen University
P. Dave
Georgia Institute of Technology
C. De Clercq
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
J.J. Delaunay
University of Alabama
D. Delgado López
Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
H. Dembinski
University of Delaware
S. Deng
RWTH Aachen University
K. Deoskar
Oskar Klein Centre
A. Desai
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
P. Desiati
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
K. D. De Vries
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
G. De Wasseige
Universite catholique de Louvain
T. Deyoung
Michigan State University
A. Diaz
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
J. C. Díaz-Vélez
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
M. Dittmer
University of Münster
A. Domi
University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU)
H. Dujmovic
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
M. A. Duvernois
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
T. Ehrhardt
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
P. Eller
Technical University of Munich
R. Engel
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
H. Erpenbeck
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
J. Evans
University of Maryland
P.A. Evenson
University of Delaware
K.L. Fan
University of Maryland
K. Fang
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
A. R. Fazely
Southern University and A&M College
A. Fedynitch
Academia Sinica
N. Feigl
Humboldt University of Berlin
S. Fiedlschuster
University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU)
C. Finley
Oskar Klein Centre
L. Fischer
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
D. Fox
Pennsylvania State University
A. Franckowiak
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
E. Friedman
University of Maryland
A. Fritz
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
P. Fürst
RWTH Aachen University
T.K. Gaisser
University of Delaware
J. S. Gallagher III
University of Wisconsin Madison
E. Ganster
RWTH Aachen University
A. Garcia
Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
S. Garrappa
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
L. Gerhardt
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
A. Ghadimi
University of Alabama
C. Glaser
Uppsala University
T. Glauch
Technical University of Munich
T. Glüsenkamp
University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU)
N. Goehlke
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
J.G. Gonzalez
University of Delaware
S. Goswami
University of Alabama
D. Grant
Michigan State University
S.J. Gray
University of Maryland
S. Griffin
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
S. Griswold
University of Rochester
C. Günther
RWTH Aachen University
P. Gutjahr
Technische Universität Dortmund
C. Haack
Technical University of Munich
A. Hallgren
Uppsala University
R. Halliday
Michigan State University
L. Halve
RWTH Aachen University
F. Halzen
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
H. Hamdaoui
Stony Brook University
M. Ha Minh
Technical University of Munich
K. Hanson
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
J. Hardin
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
A.A. Harnisch
Michigan State University
P. Hatch
Queen's University
A. Haungs
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
S. Hauser
RWTH Aachen University
K. Helbing
Bergische Universität Wuppertal
J. Hellrung
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
F. Henningsen
Technical University of Munich
L. Heuermann
RWTH Aachen University
S. Hickford
Bergische Universität Wuppertal
A. Hidvegi
Oskar Klein Centre
C. Hill
Chiba University
G.C. Hill
University of Adelaide
K.D. Hoffman
University of Maryland
K. Hoshina
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
W. Hou
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
T. Huber
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
K. Hultqvist
Oskar Klein Centre
M. Hünnefeld
Technische Universität Dortmund
R. Hussain
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
K. Hymon
Technische Universität Dortmund
S. In
Sungkyunkwan University
N. Iovine
Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
A. Ishihara
Chiba University
M. Jacquart
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
M. Jansson
Oskar Klein Centre
G.S. Japaridze
Clark Atlanta University
K. Jayakumar
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
M. Jeong
Sungkyunkwan University
M. Jin
Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
B.J.P. Jones
University of Texas at Arlington
D. Kang
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
W. Kang
Sungkyunkwan University
X. Kang
Drexel University
A. Kappes
University of Münster
D. Kappesser
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
L. Kardum
Technische Universität Dortmund
T. Karg
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
M. Karl
Technical University of Munich
A. Karle
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
U. Katz
University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU)
M. Kauer
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
J.L. Kelley
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
A. Khatee Zathul
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
A. Kheirandish
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
K. Kin
Chiba University
J. Kiryluk
Stony Brook University
S.R. Klein
University of California
A. Kochocki
Michigan State University
R. Koirala
University of Delaware
H. Kolanoski
Humboldt University of Berlin
T. Kontrimas
Technical University of Munich
L. Köpke
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
C. Kopper
Michigan State University
D.J. Koskinen
Niels Bohr Institute
P. Koundal
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
M. Kovacevich
Drexel University
M. Kowalski
Humboldt University of Berlin
T. Kozynets
Niels Bohr Institute
K. Kruiswijk
Universite catholique de Louvain
E. Krupczak
Michigan State University
A. Kumar
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
Emma Kun
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
N. Kurahashi
Drexel University
N. Lad
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
C. Lagunas Gualda
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
M. Lamoureux
Universite catholique de Louvain
M.J. Larson
University of Maryland
F. Lauber
Bergische Universität Wuppertal
J.P. Lazar
Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
J.W. Lee
Sungkyunkwan University
K. Leonard DeHolton
Pennsylvania State University
A. Leszczyńska
University of Delaware
M. Lincetto
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Q.R. Liu
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
M. Liubarska
University of Alberta
E. Lohfink
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
C. Love
Drexel University
C.J. Lozano Mariscal
University of Münster
L. Lu
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
F. Lucarelli
University of Geneva
A. Ludwig
University of California
W. Luszczak
Ohio State University
Y. Lyu
University of California
W.Y. Ma
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
J. Madsen
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
K.B.M. Mahn
Michigan State University
Y. Makino
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
S. Mancina
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
W. Marie Sainte
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
I.C. Mariş
Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
S. Marka
Columbia University
Z. Marka
Columbia University
M. Marsee
University of Alabama
I. Martinez-Soler
Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
R. Maruyama
Yale University
F. Mayhew
Michigan State University
T. McElroy
University of Alberta
F. McNally
Mercer University
J.V. Mead
Niels Bohr Institute
K. Meagher
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
S. Mechbal
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
A. Medina
Ohio State University
M. Meier
Chiba University
S. Meighen-Berger
Technical University of Munich
Y. Merckx
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
L. Merten
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
J. Micallef
Michigan State University
D. Mockler
Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
T. Montaruli
University of Geneva
R.W. Moore
University of Alberta
Y. Morii
Chiba University
R. Morse
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
M. Moulai
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
T. Mukherjee
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
R. Naab
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
R. Nagai
Chiba University
M. Nakos
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
U. Naumann
Bergische Universität Wuppertal
J. Necker
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
M. Neumann
University of Münster
H. Niederhausen
Michigan State University
M.U. Nisa
Michigan State University
A. Noell
RWTH Aachen University
S.C. Nowicki
Michigan State University
A. Obertacke Pollmann
Bergische Universität Wuppertal
M. Oehler
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
B. Oeyen
Ghent university
A. Olivas
University of Maryland
R. Orsoe
Technical University of Munich
J. Osborn
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
E. O'Sullivan
Uppsala University
H. Pandya
University of Delaware
N. Park
Queen's University
G.K. Parker
University of Texas at Arlington
E.N. Paudel
University of Delaware
L. Paul
Marquette University
C. Pérez de los Heros
Uppsala University
J. Peterson
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
S. Philippen
RWTH Aachen University
S. Pieper
Bergische Universität Wuppertal
A. Pizzuto
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
M. Plum
South Dakota School of Mines & Technology
Y. Popovych
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
M. Prado Rodriguez
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
B. Pries
Michigan State University
R. Procter-Murphy
University of Maryland
G.T. Przybylski
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
C. Raab
Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
J. Rack-Helleis
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
K. Rawlins
University of Alaska Anchorage
Z. Rechav
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
A. Rehman
University of Delaware
P. Reichherzer
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
G. Renzi
Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
E. Resconi
Technical University of Munich
S. Reusch
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
W. Rhode
Technische Universität Dortmund
M. Richman
Drexel University
B. Riedel
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
E.J. Roberts
University of Adelaide
S. Robertson
University of California
S. Rodan
Sungkyunkwan University
G. Roellinghoff
Sungkyunkwan University
M. Rongen
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
C. Rott
University of Utah
T. Ruhe
Technische Universität Dortmund
L. Ruohan
Technical University of Munich
D. Ryckbosch
Ghent university
I. Safa
Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
J. Saffer
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
D. Salazar-Gallegos
Michigan State University
P. Sampathkumar
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
S.E. Sanchez Herrera
Michigan State University
A. Sandrock
Technische Universität Dortmund
M. Santander
University of Alabama
S. Sarkar
University of Alberta
S. Sarkar
University of Oxford
J. Savelberg
RWTH Aachen University
P. Savina
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
M. Schaufel
RWTH Aachen University
H. Schieler
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
S. Schindler
University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU)
B. Schlüter
University of Münster
T. Schmidt
University of Maryland
J. Schneider
University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU)
F.G. Schröder
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
L. Schumacher
Technical University of Munich
G. Schwefer
RWTH Aachen University
S. Sclafani
Drexel University
D. Seckel
University of Delaware
S. Seunarine
University of Wisconsin
A. Sharma
Uppsala University
S. Shefali
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
N. Shimizu
Chiba University
M. Silva
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
B. Skrzypek
Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
B. Smithers
University of Texas at Arlington
R. Snihur
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
J. Soedingrekso
Technische Universität Dortmund
A. Søgaard
Niels Bohr Institute
D. Soldin
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
G. Sommani
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
C. Spannfellner
Technical University of Munich
G.M. Spiczak
University of Wisconsin
C. Spiering
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
M. Stamatikos
Ohio State University
T. Stanev
University of Delaware
R. Stein
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
T. Stezelberger
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
T. Stürwald
Bergische Universität Wuppertal
T. Stuttard
Niels Bohr Institute
G.W. Sullivan
University of Maryland
I. Taboada
Georgia Institute of Technology
S. Ter-Antonyan
Southern University and A&M College
W.G. Thompson
Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
J. Thwaites
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
S. Tilav
University of Delaware
K. Tollefson
Michigan State University
C. Tönnis
Sungkyunkwan University
S. Toscano
Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
D. Tosi
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
A. Trettin
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
C.F. Tung
Georgia Institute of Technology
R. Turcotte
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
J.P. Twagirayezu
Michigan State University
B. Ty
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
M.A. Unland Elorrieta
University of Münster
A.K. Upadhyay
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
K. Upshaw
Southern University and A&M College
N. Valtonen-Mattila
Uppsala University
J. Vandenbroucke
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
N. Van Eijndhoven
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
D. Vannerom
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
J. Van Santen
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
J. Vara
University of Münster
J. Veitch-Michaelis
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
M. Venugopal
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
S. Verpoest
Ghent university
D. Veske
Columbia University
C. Walck
Oskar Klein Centre
T.B. Watson
University of Texas at Arlington
C. Weaver
Michigan State University
P. Weigel
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
A. Weindl
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
J. Weldert
Pennsylvania State University
C. Wendt
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
J. Werthebach
Technische Universität Dortmund
M. Weyrauch
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Nathan Whitehorn
Michigan State University
C.H. Wiebusch
RWTH Aachen University
N. Willey
Michigan State University
D.R. Williams
University of Alabama
M. Wolf
Technical University of Munich
G. Wrede
University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU)
J. Wulff
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
X.W. Xu
Southern University and A&M College
J.P. Yanez
University of Alberta
E. Yildizci
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
S. Yoshida
Chiba University
F. Yu
Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
S. Yu
Michigan State University
T. Yuan
Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center
Z. Zhang
Stony Brook University
P. Zhelnin
Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
European Physical Journal C
1434-6044 (ISSN) 1434-6052 (eISSN)
Vol. 83 9 777Subject Categories
Subatomic Physics
DOI
10.1140/epjc/s10052-023-11679-5