Optical Observations Reveal Strong Evidence for High-energy Neutrino Progenitor
Abstract
We present the earliest astronomical observation of a high-energy neutrino error box of which the variability was discovered after high-energy-neutrino detection. The one robotic telescope of the MASTER global international networks automatically imaged the error box of the very high-energy-neutrino event IceCube-170922A. Observations were carried out in minutes after the IceCube-170922A neutrino event was detected by the IceCube observatory at the South Pole. MASTER found the blazar TXS 0506+056 to be in the off-state after one minute and then switched to the on-state no later than two hours after the event. The effect is observed at a 50σ significance level. We also present own a unique 16 yr light curve of blazar TXS 0506+056 (518 data set).
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- June 2020
- DOI:
- 10.3847/2041-8213/ab96ba
- arXiv:
- arXiv:2006.04918
- Bibcode:
- 2020ApJ...896L..19L
- Keywords:
-
- Neutrino astronomy;
- Blazars;
- Active galactic nuclei;
- Automated telescopes;
- Automatic patrol telescopes;
- High energy astrophysics;
- Black holes;
- Particle astrophysics;
- Ultra-high-energy cosmic radiation;
- 1100;
- 164;
- 16;
- 121;
- 122;
- 739;
- 162;
- 96;
- 1733;
- Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena;
- High Energy Physics - Experiment;
- Physics - Applied Physics
- E-Print:
- 17 pages, 3 figures, 1 Table accepted to The Astrophysical Journal Letters