Limit on the diffuse flux of ultrahigh energy tau neutrinos with the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory

Authors

J. Abraham, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
P. Abreu, Instituto Superior Técnico
M. Aglietta, Università degli Studi di Torino
C. Aguirre, Universidad Catolica de Bolivia
E. J. Ahn, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
D. Allard, APC - AstroParticule et Cosmologie
I. Allekotte, Instituto Balseiro
J. Allen, New York University
P. Allison, The Ohio State University
J. Alvarez-Muñiz, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela
M. Ambrosio, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
L. Anchordoqui, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
S. Andringa, Instituto Superior Técnico
A. Anzalone, INAF Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica di Palermo
C. Aramo, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
S. Argirò, Università degli Studi di Torino
K. Arisaka, University of California, Los Angeles
F. Arneodo, Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso
F. Arqueros, Universidad Complutense de Madrid
T. Asch, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Campus North
H. Asorey, Instituto Balseiro
P. Assis, Instituto Superior Técnico
J. Aublin, Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Energies
M. Ave, The Enrico Fermi Institute
G. Avila, Pierre Auger Observatory
T. Bäcker, Universität Siegen
D. Badagnani, Universidad Nacional de La Plata
K. B. Barber, The University of Adelaide
A. F. Barbosa, Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas
S. L.C. Barroso, Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia
B. Baughman, The Ohio State University
P. Bauleo, Colorado State University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-1-2009

Abstract

Data collected at the Pierre Auger Observatory are used to establish an upper limit on the diffuse flux of tau neutrinos in the cosmic radiation. Earth-skimming ντ may interact in the Earth's crust and produce a τ lepton by means of charged-current interactions. The τ lepton may emerge from the Earth and decay in the atmosphere to produce a nearly horizontal shower with a typical signature, a persistent electromagnetic component even at very large atmospheric depths. The search procedure to select events induced by τ decays against the background of normal showers induced by cosmic rays is described. The method used to compute the exposure for a detector continuously growing with time is detailed. Systematic uncertainties in the exposure from the detector, the analysis, and the involved physics are discussed. No τ neutrino candidates have been found. For neutrinos in the energy range 2×1017eV < Eν < 2×1019eV, assuming a diffuse spectrum of the form Eν-2, data collected between 1 January 2004 and 30 April 2008 yield a 90% confidence-level upper limit of Eν2dNντ/dEν < 9×10- 8GeVcm-2s-1sr-1. © 2009 The American Physical Society.

Publication Title

Physical Review D - Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology

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