Bi-Weekly IIHE Internal Seminar: Martin Casier, "Studying Gamma Ray Bursts and Active Galactic Nuclei Emissions with IceCube: Method and Statistical Analysis"

Thursday 29 Nov 2012, 10:00 → 10:30 Europe/Brussels

CMS Center (IIHE)

The Universe is full of not yet or not fully understood processes. Among all these phenomena, the Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) and the Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are one of the most violent and energetic events in our Universe. Furthermore, the GRBs are the most luminous (L ∼ 1050 erg s−1) ones. GRBs and AGN are the most potential candidates for the sources of the ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (1018-1020 eV).

Physicists have devised several models to explain the non-thermal processes that are taking place inside these objects. According to hadronic models photons are produced by the proton collision with photons present in the jet. These collisions produce neutral and charged pions which decay producing very high energy gamma-rays and neutrinos. Detection (or no detection) of these neutrinos therefore remains crucial for the understanding of GRBs and AGN.

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory, located at the geographic south pole, has been designed to detect astrophysical neutrinos and represents thus a real opportunity to detect the GRBs’ and AGN’s neutrinos.

The present status of GRB and AGN analysis with IceCube in the IIHE will be presented.