New physics with ultra-high-energy neutrinos

Understand

Now that PeV neutrinos have been discovered by IceCube, we optimistically entertain the possibility that neutrinos with energy above 100 PeV exist.

• We evaluate the dependence of event rates of such neutrinos on the neutrino-nucleon cross section at observatories that detect particles, atmospheric fluorescence, or Cherenkov radiation, initiated by neutrino interactions.
• We consider how (i) a simple scaling of the total standard model neutrino-nucleon cross section, (ii) a new elastic neutral current interaction, and (iii) a new completely inelastic interaction, individually impact event rates.