Mena, O., Palomares-Ruiz, S., & Vincent, A. C. (2014). Flavor Composition of the High-Energy Neutrino Events in IceCube. Phys. Rev. Lett., 113(9), 091103–5pp.
Abstract: The IceCube experiment has recently reported the observation of 28 high-energy (> 30 TeV) neutrino events, separated into 21 showers and 7 muon tracks, consistent with an extraterrestrial origin. In this Letter, we compute the compatibility of such an observation with possible combinations of neutrino flavors with relative proportion (alpha(e:)alpha(mu):alpha tau)(circle plus). Although the 7: 21 track-to-shower ratio is naively favored for the canonical (1:1:1)(circle plus) at Earth, this is not true once the atmospheric muon and neutrino backgrounds are properly accounted for. We find that, for an astrophysical neutrino E-2 energy spectrum, (1:1:1)(circle plus). at Earth is disfavored at 81% C. L. If this proportion does not change, 6 more years of data would be needed to exclude (1:1:1)(circle plus) at Earth at 3 sigma C.L. Indeed, with the recently released 3-yr data, that flavor composition is excluded at 92% C. L. The best fit is obtained for (1:0:0)(circle plus). at Earth, which cannot be achieved from any flavor ratio at sources with averaged oscillations during propagation. If confirmed, this result would suggest either a misunderstanding of the expected background events or a misidentification of tracks as showers, or even more compellingly, some exotic physics which deviates from the standard scenario.
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Addazi, A. et al, Martinez-Mirave, P., Mitsou, V. A., Palomares-Ruiz, S., Tortola, M., & Zornoza, J. D. (2022). Quantum gravity phenomenology at the dawn of the multi-messenger era-A review. Prog. Part. Nucl. Phys., 125, 103948–119pp.
Abstract: The exploration of the universe has recently entered a new era thanks to the multi-messenger paradigm, characterized by a continuous increase in the quantity and quality of experimental data that is obtained by the detection of the various cosmic messengers (photons, neutrinos, cosmic rays and gravitational waves) from numerous origins. They give us information about their sources in the universe and the properties of the intergalactic medium. Moreover, multi-messenger astronomy opens up the possibility to search for phenomenological signatures of quantum gravity. On the one hand, the most energetic events allow us to test our physical theories at energy regimes which are not directly accessible in accelerators; on the other hand, tiny effects in the propagation of very high energy particles could be amplified by cosmological distances. After decades of merely theoretical investigations, the possibility of obtaining phenomenological indications of Planck-scale effects is a revolutionary step in the quest for a quantum theory of gravity, but it requires cooperation between different communities of physicists (both theoretical and experimental). This review, prepared within the COST Action CA18108 “Quantum gravity phenomenology in the multi-messenger approach”, is aimed at promoting this cooperation by giving a state-of-the art account of the interdisciplinary expertise that is needed in the effective search of quantum gravity footprints in the production, propagation and detection of cosmic messengers.
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