Neutrino Signal from a Population of Seyfert Galaxies

Andrii Neronov
2024
Journal paper

Abstract

IceCube Collaboration has previously reported evidence for a neutrino signal from a Seyfert galaxy NGC 1068. This may suggest that all Seyfert galaxies emit neutrinos. To test this hypothesis, we identify the best candidate neutrino sources among nearby Seyfert galaxies, based on their hard x-ray properties. Only two other sources, NGC 4151 and NGC 3079 are expected to be detectable in 10 years of IceCube data. We find evidence (similar to 3 sigma) for a neutrino signal from both sources in a publicly available ten-year IceCube dataset. Though neither source alone is above the threshold for discovery, the chance coincidence probability to find the observed neutrino count excesses in the directions of the two out of two expected sources, in addition to the previously reported brightest source, is p < 2.6 x 10(-7). This corresponds to a correlation between Seyfert galaxies and neutrino emission.

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/310784?ln=en

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Ontological neighbourhood

Astronomy

Astrophysics: Stellar astronomy

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Seyfert galaxies are one of the two largest groups of active galaxies, along with quasars. They have quasar-like nuclei (very luminous sources of electromagnetic radiation that are outside of our own galaxy) with very high surface brightnesses whose spectra reveal strong, high-ionisation emission lines, but unlike quasars, their host galaxies are clearly detectable. Seyfert galaxies account for about 10% of all galaxies and are some of the most intensely studied objects in astronomy, as they are thought to be powered by the same phenomena that occur in quasars, although they are closer and less luminous than quasars.

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An active galactic nucleus (AGN) is a compact region at the center of a galaxy that has a much-higher-than-normal luminosity over at least some portion of the electromagnetic spectrum with characteristics indicating that the luminosity is not produced by stars. Such excess, non-stellar emissions have been observed in the radio, microwave, infrared, optical, ultra-violet, X-ray and gamma ray wavebands. A galaxy hosting an AGN is called an active galaxy.

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