A new and improved IceCube point source analysis

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory, a cubic kilometer scale Cherenkov detector deployed in the deep ice at the geographic South Pole, investigates extreme astrophysical phenomena by studying the corresponding high-energy neutrino signal. Its discovery of a diffuse flux of astrophysical neutrinos with energies up to the PeV scale in 2013 has triggered a vast effort to identify the mostly unknown sources of these high energy neutrinos. Here, we present a new IceCube point-source search that improves the accuracy of the statistical analysis, especially at energies of a few TeV and below. The new approach is based on multidimensional kernel density estimation for the probability density functions and new estimators for the observables, namely the reconstructed energy and the estimated angular uncertainty on the reconstructed arrival direction. The more accurate analysis provides an improvement in discovery potential up to ∼30% over previous works for hard spectrum sources.

Nuclear Transmutation of Minor Actinide

Integral experiments on critical irradiation of neuptium-237 (237Np) and americium-241 (241Am) foils are carried out in a hard spectrum core at KUCA with the use of the back-to-back fission chamber, and Monte Carlo calculations together with a reference nuclear data library are conducted for confirming the precision of numerical simulations. Subcritical irradiation of minor actinide (MA) by ADS is a very important step, before operating actual ADS facilities, in a critical assembly at zero power, such as KUCA, which is an exclusive facility for ADS that comprises a uranium-235 (235U) fueled core and a 100 MeV proton accelerator. The first significant attempt is made to demonstrate the principle of nuclear transmutation of MA by ADS through the injection of high-energy neutrons into the KUCA core at a subcritical state. Here, the main targets of nuclear transmutation of MA by the ADS experiments are fission reactions of 237Np and 241Am, and capture reactions of 237Np.

Reactor Kinetics

In static and kinetic experimental analyses, the reactivity effect of introducing a neutron guide has been examined with various materials and adjustments of the beam window. With the objective of improving the KUCA core characteristics, the implementation of the neutron guide is predicted to increase the fast neutrons in directing the fuel region. With regard to the kinetic characteristics, the subcriticality and the prompt neutron decay constant are monitored for several core configurations and detector positions. The KUCA core is equipped to make locally a hard spectrum core region with the combined use of 235U fuel, a polyethylene moderator, and a Pb–Bi reflector for criticality. In this study, the first attempt is made to examine experimentally the characteristics of kinetics parameters in ADS comprised of 235U-fueled and Pb–Bi-zoned core, and spallation neutrons generated by an injection of 100 MeV protons onto the solid Pb–Bi target. Online monitoring of reactivity has been deduced in real time by the inverse kinetic method on the basis of the one-point kinetic equation with measured neutron signals in the core. Here, measurements by the one-point kinetic equation are validated through the subcriticality evaluation with the PNS histogram and the methodology by the inhour equation.

Wind accretion in Cygnus X-1

Context. Cygnus X-1 is a black hole X-ray binary system in which the black hole captures and accretes gas from the strong stellar wind emitted by its supergiant O9.7 companion star. The irradiation of the supergiant star essentially determines the flow properties of the stellar wind and the X-ray luminosity from the system. The results of three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of wind-fed X-ray binary systems reported in recent work reveal that the ionizing feedback of the X-ray irradiation leads to the existence of two stable states with either a soft or a hard spectrum. Aims. We discuss the observed radiation of Cygnus X-1 in the soft and hard state in the context of mass flow in the corona and disk, as predicted by the recent application of a condensation model. Methods. The rates of gas condensation from the corona to the disk for Cygnus X-1 are determined, and the spectra of the hard and soft radiation are computed. The theoretical results are compared with the MAXI observations of Cygnus X-1 from 2009 to 2018. In particular, we evaluate the hardness-intensity diagrams (HIDs) for its ten episodes of soft and hard states which show that Cygnus X-1 is distinct in its spectral changes as compared to those found in the HIDs of low-mass X-ray binaries. Results. The theoretically derived values of photon counts and hardness are in approximate agreement with the observed data in the HID. However, the scatter in the diagram is not reproduced. Improved agreement could result from variations in the viscosity associated with clumping in the stellar wind and corresponding changes of the magnetic fields in the disk. The observed dipping events in the hard state may also contribute to the scatter and to a harder spectrum than predicted by the model.

Diffuse γ-ray emission from the vicinity of young massive star cluster RSGC 1

ABSTRACT We report the Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT) detection of the γ-ray emission towards the young massive star cluster RSGC 1. Using the latest source catalogue and diffuse background models, we found that the diffuse γ-ray emission in this region can be resolved into three different components. The GeV γ-ray emission from the region HESS J1837-069 has a photon index of 1.83 ± 0.08. Combining with the HESS and MAGIC data, we argue that the γ-ray emission in this region likely originates from a pulsar wind nebula. The γ-ray emission from the north-west part (region A) can be modelled by an ellipse with the semimajor and semiminor axes of 0.5° and 0.25°, respectively. The GeV emission has a hard spectrum with a photon index of about −2 and partially coincides with the TeV source MAGIC J1835-069. The possible origin of the γ-ray emission in this region is the interaction of the cosmic rays (CRs) accelerated by SNR G24.7+0.6 or/and the OB cluster G25.18+0.26 with the surrounding gas clouds. The GeV γ-ray emission from the south-east region (region B) can be modelled as an ellipse with the semimajor and semiminor axes of 0.9° and 0.5°, respectively, and also reveals a hard γ-ray spectrum. We argue that the most probable origin is the interaction of the accelerated protons in the young massive star cluster RSGC 1 with ambient gas clouds, and the total CR proton energy is estimated to be as high as ${\sim}1\times 10^{50}\ \rm erg$.

Reactor with metallic fuel and lead-208 coolant

The paper considers the concept of a fast lead cooled 25MW reactor for a variety of applications, including incineration of minor actinides, production of medical radioisotopes, testing of radiation-damaged nuclear technology materials, etc. A specific feature of the proposed reactor is rather a high neutron flux of 2.6·1015 n/(cm2·s) at the core center, high average neutron energy of 0.95 MeV at the core center, and a large fraction (40%) of hard neutrons (En > 0.8 MeV). The extremely high estimated reactor parameters are achieved thanks to the small core dimensions (DxH ≈ 0.50×0.42 m2), innovative metallic fuel of the Pu-Am-Np-Zr alloy, and the 208Pb enriched lead coolant. A relatively high probability of 241Am fission (about 50%) is achieved in the reactor core’s hard spectrum, this making it possible to incinerate up to 4 kg of 241Am during one reactor campaign of 1000 effective days.

Anisotropic electron populations in BL Lac jets: consequences for the observed emission

We investigate the impact on the properties of high-energy emitting BL Lac objects of a population of electrons with an anisotropic momentum distribution. We adopt a simple phenomenological description of the anisotropy, in which the most energetic electrons have a small pitch angle and the least energetic electrons are isotropic, as proposed by Sobacchi & Lyubarsky (2019). We explore (i) a simple model that assumes a phenomenological shape for the electron energy distribution, and (ii) a self-consistent scheme in which the electrons follow a distribution which is the result of the balance between injection and radiative losses (we include the effects of the anisotropy on the synchrotron cooling rate). Considering the BL Lac object Mkn 421 as representative of the entire class, we show that in both cases the emission can be satisfactorily reproduced under equipartition between the magnetic field and the relativistic electrons. This is in better agreement with the idea that jets are launched as Poynting dominated flows with respect to the standard isotropic scenario, which requires both a low magnetization and a low radiative efficiency to reproduce the observed emission. The hard spectrum predicted for the inverse Compton continuum at TeV energies could be used as a potential test of the anisotropic model.

Dissecting the region around IceCube-170922A: the blazar TXS 0506+056 as the first cosmic neutrino source

On MJD 58018 the IceCube neutrino observatory detected a highlyenergetic, well-reconstructed neutrino, IceCube-170922A, at a distance of 0:1° to a γ-ray flaring blazar, TXS 0506+056. Follow-up searches in archival data additionally revealed a larger flare of neutrinos from the same direction. In order to complete the picture we present here a full multi-wavelength study of the region around IceCube-170922A. While we identify also other non-thermal counterpart candidates, we show that all the evidence points to TXS 0506+056 as the dominant neutrino emitter. Additionally, an analysis of all the available Fermi-LAT data indicates a hard spectrum/low flux of TXS 0506+056 during the neutrino flare in contrast to a soft spectrum/high flux at the arrival time of IceCube-170922A. Putting all the pieces together we conclude that the SED of TXS 0506+056 can be energetically reconnected for both neutrino observations.