The observation of astrophysical high-energy neutrinos by IceCube (Aarsten etal. 2013, Science 22, 342) represents a major breakthrough in the search for thesources of cosmic rays. While no neutrino point-sources have been detected sofar, the sensitivity of this study can be increased by searching forelectromagnetic counterparts. We propose to perform XMM-Newton observationscovering the 1-degree error-circle of the neutrino event detected by IceCube(e.g. the neutrino with the highest probability of having an astrophysicalorigin). These observations would allow us to map all steady X-ray sources inthe neutrino field to a much deeper sensitivity than that of existing X-raycatalogs and to enable optical follow-up observations.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2016-04-24T14:27:47Z/2017-04-15T16:30:15Z
Version
17.56_20190403_1200
Mission Description
The European Space Agencys (ESA) X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) was launched by an Ariane 504 on December 10th 1999. XMM-Newton is ESAs second cornerstone of the Horizon 2000 Science Programme. It carries 3 high throughput X-ray telescopes with an unprecedented effective area, and an optical monitor, the first flown on a X-ray observatory. The large collecting area and ability to make long uninterrupted exposures provide highly sensitive observations. Since Earths atmosphere blocks out all X-rays, only a telescope in space can detect and study celestial X-ray sources. The XMM-Newton mission is helping scientists to solve a number of cosmic mysteries, ranging from the enigmatic black holes to the origins of the Universe itself. Observing time on XMM-Newton is being made available to the scientific community, applying for observational periods on a competitive basis.
European Space Agency, Dr Marcos Santander, 2018, 'Exploring the origin of astrophysical PeV neutrino emission with IceCube and XMM', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-iuyq7ji
