Evidence for Neutrino Emission from X-Ray-bright Active Galactic Nuclei with IceCube
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS, vol.1000, no.1, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 1000 Issue: 1
- Publication Date: 2026
- Doi Number: 10.3847/2041-8213/ae4aad
- Journal Name: ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS
- Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, INSPEC, Directory of Open Access Journals
- Middle East Technical University Affiliated: No
Abstract
Recently, IceCube reported neutrino emission from the Seyfert galaxy NGC 1068. Using 13.1 yr of IceCube data, we present a follow-up search for neutrino sources in the northern sky. NGC 1068 remains the most significant neutrino source among 110 preselected gamma-ray emitters while also being spatially compatible with the most significant location in the northern sky. Its energy spectrum is characterized by an unbroken power-law with spectral index gamma = 3.4 +/- 0.2. Consistent with previous results, the observed neutrino flux exceeds its gamma-ray counterpart by at least 2 orders of magnitude. Motivated by this disparity and the high X-ray luminosity of the source, we selected 47 X-ray-bright Seyfert galaxies from the Swift/BAT spectroscopic survey that were not included in the list of gamma-ray emitters. When testing this collection for neutrino emission, we observe a 3.3 sigma excess from an ensemble of 11 sources, with NGC 1068 excluded from the sample. Our results strengthen the evidence that X-ray-bright cores of active galactic nuclei are neutrino emitters.