Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2005-05-27
Phys.Rev. D72 (2005) 043008
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
13 pages, 8 figures, RevTeX; v2 matches published version
Scientific paper
10.1103/PhysRevD.72.043008
Resonant annihilation of ultra-high energy cosmic neutrinos (UHECnu) on the cosmic neutrino background (CnuB) into Z bosons--the Z-burst mechanism--and its associated absorption and emission phenomenology provide a unique, albeit indirect, probe of the CnuB in its present state. In this paper, we examine the implications of gravitational clustering of the CnuB in nearby galaxy clusters for the Z-burst phenomenology. In particular, we study the emission features of the Z-decay products originating from the Virgo cluster, and the potential of future cosmic ray experiments to observe clustering-enhanced Z-burst rates. We find that a detector with an exposure equivalent to three years of observations at the Extreme Universe Space Observatory (EUSO) will very likely measure these enhanced rates together with the associated UHECnu flux, provided that the latter saturates current observational limits and the neutrino masses are quasi-degenerate, m_nu_i < 0.1 eV. In the case of UHECnu fluxes below the electromagnetic cascade limit, or a hierarchical neutrino mass spectrum, an experimental sensitivity exceeding that of EUSO by at least two orders of magnitude is required to detect the clustering enhancements with any certainty.
Ringwald Andreas
Weiler Thomas J.
Wong Yvonne Y. Y.
No associations
LandOfFree
Z-bursts from the Virgo cluster does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Z-bursts from the Virgo cluster, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Z-bursts from the Virgo cluster will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-523407