Differential Sensitivity of the KM3NeT/ARCA detector to a diffuse neutrino flux and to point-like source emission: exploring the case of the Starburst Galaxies

Abstract

KM3NeT/ARCA is a Cherenkov neutrino telescope under construction in the Mediterranean sea, optimised for the detection of astrophysical neutrinos with energies above $\sim$1~TeV. In this work, using Monte Carlo simulations including all-flavour neutrinos, the integrated and differential sensitivities for KM3NeT/ARCA are presented considering the case of a diffuse neutrino flux as well as extended and point-like neutrino sources. This analysis is applied to Starburst Galaxies demonstrating that the detector has the capability of tracing TeV neutrinos from these sources. Remarkably, after eight years, a hard power-law spectrum from the nearby Small Magellanic Cloud can be constrained. The sensitivity and discovery potential for NGC 1068 is also evaluated showing that KM3NeT/ARCA will discriminate between different astrophysical components of the measured neutrino flux after 3 years of data taking.