Abstract for Proposal 096403
A pilot study to Probe the nuclear transient--neutrino paradigm with XMM
The astrophysical origin of most IceCube observatory detected neutrinos
remains unknown. Proposed counterparts to IceCube's TeV-PeV neutrinos
include non-jetted nuclear transients, arising from supermassive black
hole accretion. Yet, this hinges on spatial coincidence, vulnerable to
IceCube's large localization errors. We propose prompt XMM/EPIC follow-up
of a nuclear transient coinciding with an IceCube GOLD alert during Cycle
24. Our primary objective is to model the hard X-ray spectrum (1-10
keV) and constrain the neutrino flux which will be directly compared
with IceCube data to validate the nuclear transient's association with
the neutrino. At present, XMM provides the highest effective area/most
sensitive data in the 1-10 keV which makes it ideal for this study.
Details on Observing Strategy and Trigger Criteria
We are requesting one trigger which will be use on a known nuclear
transient spatially coincident with a future IceCube GOLD alert.
Reaction time of less than two weeks with 50 ks exposure is requested.