Cosmic rays have been observed on Earth with energies in excess of 10^20 eV. Because cosmic rays are charged particles and are bent by galactic magnetic fields, the origin of these particles has remained a mystery. Gamma-ray bursts are one of a few astronomical sources containing an environment capable of accelerating charged particles to the energies observed. In addition, gamma-ray bursts are the leading candidate due to the fact that the total aggregate power observed in gamma-ray bursts and ultra high energy cosmic rays are the same order of magnitude. Neutrinos can only be created by hadronic interactions, so an observation of neutrinos in coincidence with a gamma-ray burst would provide compelling evidence that hadrons are accelerated in gamma-ray burst fireballs and hence the origin of cosmic rays. Using the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in its 40 string configuration, a stacked search was performed to look for the simultaneous occurrence of muon neutrinos with 117 gamma-ray bursts. No evidence for neutrino emission was found, placing a 90% upper limit 0.82 of the predicted neutrino fluence.
Event Details
Date/Time:
-
Date:Thursday, October 4, 2012 - 11:00am
Location:
Boggs 1-90 (CRA Visualization Room)
