Cosmogenic Neutrinos from the propagation of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays
Abstract
We calculate the flux of neutrinos generated along the propagation of ultra-high energy nuclei over cosmological distances. The propagation takes into account the interactions with the cosmic background radiations including the CMB and the most recent estimates of higher energy (infra-red, optical, and ultra-violet) backgrounds. We assume that the composition of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) at the source is the same as the observed one at low energies. We find that the neutrino flux in the mixed case has a high energy peak, mainly due to photopion production off CMB photons, of similar shape and amplitude to the proton case. At low energies both composition cases have a significant neutrino flux that extends down to 1012 eV. Detection of diffuse neutrino fluxes at ultra high energies is within reach of present experiments.