Multiple-Mediator-Affected Ultra-High-Energy Neutrino Attenuation: Hints for 5D U(1)Lμ− Lτ in IceCube
Abstract
Recent IceCube observations point to the ultra-high energy neutrino flux exhibiting a very soft spectral nature beyond tens of TeV, which is unexpected from the standard cosmic-ray neutrino connection. As a potential explanation for this behaviour, we investigate neutrino self-interactions in an extra-dimensional $ {U(1)}_{L_μ-L_τ} $ gauge theory, where symmetry breaking leads to a tower of Kaluza-Klein gauge bosons in compactified four dimensions. These multiple gauge bosons may enhance the attenuation of astrophysical neutrinos as they propagate in the CνB medium. Unlike single-mediator scenarios, for example, which arise from broken $ {U(1)}_{L_μ- L_τ} $ gauge symmetries in four dimensions, the presence of a Kaluza-Klein tower of mediators produces multiple closely spaced resonances whose interference gives rise to a rich energy-dependent behaviour of the scattering cross-section over a vast range of incident neutrino energies. Alongside s-channel resonances, off-resonant t- and u-channel contributions also become important. We explore the possibility that repeated resonant scattering between astrophysical neutrinos and those in the CνB, mediated by these new multiple gauge bosons may increasingly attenuate the former at higher energies, thereby addressing the possibility of softening its spectral nature within the consideration of a single power law.
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BibTeX
@misc{bhattacharya2026multiplemediatoraffected,
title = {{Multiple-Mediator-Affected Ultra-High-Energy Neutrino Attenuation: Hints for 5D $U(1)_L_μ- L_τ$ in IceCube}},
author = {Atri Bhattacharya and Ayushi Kaushik and Kenji Nishiwaki},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.16139},
eprint = {2609.16139},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.16139},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Multiple-Mediator-Affected Ultra-High-Energy Neutrino Attenuation: Hints for 5D U(1)_L_μ− L_τ in IceCube
AU - Atri Bhattacharya
AU - Ayushi Kaushik
AU - Kenji Nishiwaki
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/29
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.16139
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.16139
AB - Recent IceCube observations point to the ultra-high energy neutrino flux exhibiting a very soft spectral nature beyond tens of TeV, which is unexpected from the standard cosmic-ray neutrino connection. As a potential explanation for this behaviour, we investigate neutrino self-interactions in an extra-dimensional $ {U(1)}_{L_μ-L_τ} $ gauge theory, where symmetry breaking leads to a tower of Kaluza-Klein gauge bosons in compactified four dimensions. These multiple gauge bosons may enhance the attenuation of astrophysical neutrinos as they propagate in the CνB medium. Unlike single-mediator scenarios, for example, which arise from broken $ {U(1)}_{L_μ- L_τ} $ gauge symmetries in four dimensions, the presence of a Kaluza-Klein tower of mediators produces multiple closely spaced resonances whose interference gives rise to a rich energy-dependent behaviour of the scattering cross-section over a vast range of incident neutrino energies. Alongside s-channel resonances, off-resonant t- and u-channel contributions also become important. We explore the possibility that repeated resonant scattering between astrophysical neutrinos and those in the CνB, mediated by these new multiple gauge bosons may increasingly attenuate the former at higher energies, thereby addressing the possibility of softening its spectral nature within the consideration of a single power law.
ER -