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  • Letter
  • Published:

Measurement of the multi-TeV neutrino interaction cross-section with IceCube using Earth absorption

Nature volume 551, pages 596–600 (2017)Cite this article

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An Erratum to this article was published on 14 February 2018

This article has been updated

Abstract

Neutrinos interact only very weakly, so they are extremely penetrating. The theoretical neutrino–nucleon interaction cross-section, however, increases with increasing neutrino energy, and neutrinos with energies above 40 teraelectronvolts (TeV) are expected to be absorbed as they pass through the Earth. Experimentally, the cross-section has been determined only at the relatively low energies (below 0.4 TeV) that are available at neutrino beams from accelerators1,2. Here we report a measurement of neutrino absorption by the Earth using a sample of 10,784 energetic upward-going neutrino-induced muons. The flux of high-energy neutrinos transiting long paths through the Earth is attenuated compared to a reference sample that follows shorter trajectories. Using a fit to the two-dimensional distribution of muon energy and zenith angle, we determine the neutrino–nucleon interaction cross-section for neutrino energies 6.3–980 TeV, more than an order of magnitude higher than previous measurements. The measured cross-section is about 1.3 times the prediction of the standard model3, consistent with the expectations for charged- and neutral-current interactions. We do not observe a large increase in the cross-section with neutrino energy, in contrast with the predictions of some theoretical models, including those invoking more compact spatial dimensions4 or the production of leptoquarks5. This cross-section measurement can be used to set limits on the existence of some hypothesized beyond-standard-model particles, including leptoquarks.

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Figure 1: Neutrino cross-section measurements.
Figure 2: Neutrino absorption in the Earth.
Figure 3: Cross-section data compared with Monte Carlo model predictions.

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Change history

  • 14 February 2018

    Change history: Please see accompanying Erratum (http://doi.org/10.1038/nature25472). In this Letter, ‘HERA’ was wrongly expanded to ‘Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array’ instead of ‘Hadron-Electron Ring Accelerator’ on page 597. In addition, some author affiliations were wrongly assigned. The original Letter has been corrected online.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge support from the following agencies: United States Air Force Academy, US National Science Foundation, Office of Polar Programs; US National Science Foundation, Physics Division; University of Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation; the Grid Laboratory of Wisconsin (GLOW) grid infrastructure at the University of Wisconsin, Madison; the Open Science Grid (OSG) grid infrastructure; US Department of Energy; National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center; the Louisiana Optical Network Initiative (LONI) grid computing resources; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; WestGrid and Compute/Calcul Canada; Swedish Research Council; Swedish Polar Research Secretariat; Swedish National Infrastructure for Computing (SNIC); Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation; German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF); Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG); Helmholtz Alliance for Astroparticle Physics (HAP); Initiative and Networking Fund of the Helmholtz Association, Germany; Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS-FWO), FWO Odysseus programme, Flanders Institute to encourage scientific and technological research in industry (IWT), Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO); Marsden Fund; Australian Research Council; Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS); Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF); National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF); Villum Fonden, Danish National Research Foundation (DNRF).

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  1. Department of Physics, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, 5005, Australia

    M. G. Aartsen, G. C. Hill, A. Kyriacou, S. Robertson, A. Wallace & B. J. Whelan

  2. DESY, Zeuthen, D-15738, Germany

    M. Ackermann, E. Bernardini, S. Blot, F. Bradascio, H.-P. Bretz, J. Brostean-Kaiser, A. Franckowiak, E. Jacobi, T. Karg, T. Kintscher, M. Kowalski, S. Kunwar, R. Nahnhauer, K. Satalecka, C. Spiering, J. Stachurska, A. Stasik, N. L. Strotjohann, A. Terliuk, M. Usner & J. van Santen

  3. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Canterbury, Private Bag, 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand

    J. Adams & H. Bagherpour

  4. Université Libre de Bruxelles, Science Faculty CP230, Brussels, B-1050, Belgium

    J. A. Aguilar, I. Ansseau, D. Heereman, K. Meagher, T. Meures, A. O’Murchadha, E. Pinat & C. Raab

  5. Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, DK-2100, Denmark

    M. Ahlers, D. J. Koskinen, M. J. Larson, M. Medici, M. Rameez & S. Sarkar

  6. Oskar Klein Centre and Department of Physics, Stockholm University, Stockholm, SE-10691, Sweden

    M. Ahrens, C. Bohm, J. P. Dumm, C. Finley, S. Flis, K. Hultqvist, C. Walck & M. Zoll

  7. Département de physique nucléaire et corpusculaire, Université de Genève, Genève, CH-1211, Switzerland

    I. Al Samarai, S. Bron, T. Carver, A. Christov & T. Montaruli

  8. Erlangen Centre for Astroparticle Physics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, D-91058, Germany

    D. Altmann, G. Anton, T. Glüsenkamp, U. Katz, T. Kittler & M. Tselengidou

  9. Department of Physics, Marquette University, Milwaukee, 53201, Wisconsin, USA

    K. Andeen & M. Plum

  10. Department of Physics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 16802, Pennsylvania, USA

    T. Anderson, D. F. Cowen, J. J. DeLaunay, M. Dunkman, P. Eller, F. Huang, A. Keivani, J. L. Lanfranchi, D. V. Pankova, C. F. Turley & M. J. Weiss

  11. Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 02139, Massachusetts, USA

    C. Argüelles, S. Axani, G. H. Collin, J. M. Conrad, M. Moulai & G. Tešić

  12. III. Physikalisches Institut, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, D-52056, Germany

    J. Auffenberg, M. Brenzke, T. Glauch, C. Haack, P. Kalaczynski, J. P. Koschinsky, M. Leuermann, L. Rädel, R. Reimann, M. Rongen, T. Sälzer, S. Schoenen, L. Schumacher, J. Stettner, M. Vehring, E. Vogel, M. Wallraff, A. Waza & C. H. Wiebusch

  13. Physics Department, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, 57701, South Dakota, USA

    X. Bai

  14. Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2E1, Alberta, Canada

    J. P. Barron, W. Giang, D. Grant, C. Kopper, R. W. Moore, S. C. Nowicki, S. E. Sanchez Herrera, S. Sarkar, F. D. Wandler, C. Weaver, T. R. Wood, E. Woolsey & J. P. Yanez

  15. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, California, 92697, USA

    S. W. Barwick & G. Yodh

  16. Institute of Physics, University of Mainz, Staudinger Weg 7, Mainz, D-55099, Germany

    V. Baum, S. Böser, V. di Lorenzo, B. Eberhardt, T. Ehrhardt, L. Köpke, G. Krückl, G. Momenté, P. Peiffer, J. Sandroos, A. Steuer & K. Wiebe

  17. Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, 94720, California, USA

    R. Bay, G. Binder, K. Filimonov, S. R. Klein, S. Miarecki, T. Palczewski, P. B. Price, J. Tatar & K. Woschnagg

  18. Department of Physics and Center for Cosmology and Astro-Particle Physics, Ohio State University, Columbus, 43210, Ohio, USA

    J. J. Beatty & M. Sutherland

  19. Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University, Columbus, 43210, Ohio, USA

    J. J. Beatty

  20. Fakultät für Physik und Astronomie, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, D-44780, Germany

    J. Becker Tjus, F. Bos, B. Eichmann, M. Kroll, S. Schöneberg & F. Tenholt

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    D. Berley, E. Blaufuss, E. Cheung, J. Felde, E. Friedman, R. Hellauer, K. D. Hoffman, R. Maunu, A. Olivas, T. Schmidt, M. Song & G. W. Sullivan

  24. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, 66045, Kansas, USA

    D. Z. Besson

  25. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, 94720, California, USA

    G. Binder, L. Gerhardt, A. Goldschmidt, S. R. Klein, S. Miarecki, D. R. Nygren, T. Palczewski, G. T. Przybylski, T. Stezelberger, R. G. Stokstad & J. Tatar

  26. Department of Physics, TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, D-44221, Germany

    M. Börner, T. Fuchs, M. Hünnefeld, M. Meier, T. Menne, D. Pieloth, W. Rhode, T. Ruhe, A. Sandrock, P. Schlunder, J. Soedingrekso & J. Werthebach

  27. Department of Physics, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 440-746, South Korea

    D. Bose, H. Dujmovic, S. In, M. Jeong, W. Kang, J. Kim & C. Rott

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  29. Department of Physics and Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 53706, Wisconsin, USA

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  32. Institut für Kernphysik, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Münster, D-48149, Germany

    L. Classen & A. Kappes

  33. Physik-department, Technische Universität München, Garching, D-85748, Germany

    S. Coenders, M. Huber, K. Krings, I. C. Rea, E. Resconi & A. Turcati

  34. Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 16802, Pennsylvania, USA

    D. F. Cowen

  35. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, 48824, Michigan, USA

    J. P. A. M. de André, T. DeYoung, J. Hignight, D. Lennarz, K. B. M. Mahn, J. Micallef, G. Neer & D. Rysewyk

  36. Bartol Research Institute and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Delaware, Newark, 19716, Delaware, USA

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  40. Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 53706, Wisconsin, USA

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  41. Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, 113-0032, Tokyo, Japan

    K. Hoshina

  42. Dept. of Physics and Institute for Global Prominent Research, Chiba University, Chiba, 263-8522, Japan

    A. Ishihara, M. Kim, T. Kuwabara, L. Lu, K. Mase, M. Relich, A. Stößl & S. Yoshida

  43. CTSPS, Clark-Atlanta University, Atlanta, 30314, Georgia, USA

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  44. Department of Physics, University of Texas at Arlington, 502 Yates Street, Science Hall Room 108, Arlington, Box 19059, 76019, Texas, USA

    B. J. P. Jones

  45. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, 11794-3800, New York, USA

    J. Kiryluk, M. Lesiak-Bzdak, H. Niederhausen & Y. Xu

  46. Université de Mons, Mons, 7000, Belgium

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  47. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, 35487, Alabama, USA

    S. Kopper, P. Nakarmi, J. A. Pepper, P. A. Toale & D. R. Williams

  48. Department of Physics, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, 19104, Pennsylvania, USA

    N. Kurahashi, B. Relethford, M. Richman & L. Wills

  49. Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, River Falls, 54022, Wisconsin, USA

    J. Madsen, S. Seunarine & G. M. Spiczak

  50. Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, 06520, Connecticut, USA

    R. Maruyama

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  52. Department of Physics, University of Oxford, 1 Keble Road, Oxford, OX1 3NP, UK

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  53. School of Physics and Center for Relativistic Astrophysics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, 30332, Georgia, USA

    I. Taboada & C. F. Tung

Consortia

The IceCube Collaboration

  • M. G. Aartsen
  • , M. Ackermann
  • , J. Adams
  • , J. A. Aguilar
  • , M. Ahlers
  • , M. Ahrens
  • , I. Al Samarai
  • , D. Altmann
  • , K. Andeen
  • , T. Anderson
  • , I. Ansseau
  • , G. Anton
  • , C. Argüelles
  • , J. Auffenberg
  • , S. Axani
  • , H. Bagherpour
  • , X. Bai
  • , J. P. Barron
  • , S. W. Barwick
  • , V. Baum
  • , R. Bay
  • , J. J. Beatty
  • , J. Becker Tjus
  • , K.-H. Becker
  • , S. BenZvi
  • , D. Berley
  • , E. Bernardini
  • , D. Z. Besson
  • , G. Binder
  • , D. Bindig
  • , E. Blaufuss
  • , S. Blot
  • , C. Bohm
  • , M. Börner
  • , F. Bos
  • , D. Bose
  • , S. Böser
  • , O. Botner
  • , J. Bourbeau
  • , F. Bradascio
  • , J. Braun
  • , L. Brayeur
  • , M. Brenzke
  • , H.-P. Bretz
  • , S. Bron
  • , J. Brostean-Kaiser
  • , A. Burgman
  • , T. Carver
  • , J. Casey
  • , M. Casier
  • , E. Cheung
  • , D. Chirkin
  • , A. Christov
  • , K. Clark
  • , L. Classen
  • , S. Coenders
  • , G. H. Collin
  • , J. M. Conrad
  • , D. F. Cowen
  • , R. Cross
  • , M. Day
  • , J. P. A. M. de André
  • , C. De Clercq
  • , J. J. DeLaunay
  • , H. Dembinski
  • , S. De Ridder
  • , P. Desiati
  • , K. D. de Vries
  • , G. de Wasseige
  • , M. de With
  • , T. DeYoung
  • , J. C. Díaz-Vélez
  • , V. di Lorenzo
  • , H. Dujmovic
  • , J. P. Dumm
  • , M. Dunkman
  • , B. Eberhardt
  • , T. Ehrhardt
  • , B. Eichmann
  • , P. Eller
  • , P. A. Evenson
  • , S. Fahey
  • , A. R. Fazely
  • , J. Felde
  • , K. Filimonov
  • , C. Finley
  • , S. Flis
  • , A. Franckowiak
  • , E. Friedman
  • , T. Fuchs
  • , T. K. Gaisser
  • , J. Gallagher
  • , L. Gerhardt
  • , K. Ghorbani
  • , W. Giang
  • , T. Glauch
  • , T. Glüsenkamp
  • , A. Goldschmidt
  • , J. G. Gonzalez
  • , D. Grant
  • , Z. Griffith
  • , C. Haack
  • , A. Hallgren
  • , F. Halzen
  • , K. Hanson
  • , D. Hebecker
  • , D. Heereman
  • , K. Helbing
  • , R. Hellauer
  • , S. Hickford
  • , J. Hignight
  • , G. C. Hill
  • , K. D. Hoffman
  • , R. Hoffmann
  • , B. Hokanson-Fasig
  • , K. Hoshina
  • , F. Huang
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Contributions

The IceCube neutrino observatory was designed and constructed by the IceCube Collaboration and the IceCube Project, which continues to operate it. Data processing and calibration, Monte Carlo simulations of the detector and of theoretical models, and data analyses were performed by a large number of IceCube Collaboration members, who also discussed and approved the scientific results. The analysis presented here was performed by S.Mi. with input from G.B. The paper was written by S.Mi., G.B. and S.R.K. and reviewed by the collaboration. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to S. R. Klein.

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The author declare no competing financial interests.

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Reviewer Information Nature thanks A. De Gouvea and the other anonymous reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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The IceCube Collaboration. Measurement of the multi-TeV neutrino interaction cross-section with IceCube using Earth absorption. Nature 551, 596–600 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature24459

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