Possible correlation between unabsorbed hard X-rays and neutrinos in radio-loud and radio-quiet AGN

• Main Authors: Kun, Emma, Bartos, Imre, Tjus, Julia Becker, Biermann, Peter L, Franckowiak, Anna, Halzen, Francis, del Palacio, Santiago, Woo, Jooyun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 10.04.2024
• Subjects: Physics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2404.06867

The first high-energy neutrino source identified by IceCube was a blazar -- an active galactic nucleus driving a relativistic jet towards Earth. Jets driven by accreting black holes are commonly assumed to be needed for high-energy neutrino production. Recently, IceCube discovered neutrinos from Seyfert galaxies, which appears unrelated to jet activity. Here, we show that the observed luminosity ratios of neutrinos and hard X-rays from blazars TXS 0506+056 and GB6 J1542+6129 are consistent with neutrino production in a $\gamma$-obscured region near a central supermassive black hole, with the X-ray flux corresponding to reprocessed $\gamma$-ray emission with flux comparable to that of neutrinos. Similar neutrino - hard X-ray flux ratios are found for four Seyfert galaxies, NGC 1068, NGC 4151, CGCG 420-015 and NGC 3079, raising the possibility of a common neutrino production mechanism that may not involve a strong jet.