IceCube particle detector at the South Pole discovers 28
high-energy neutrinos / Publication in Science
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole was the
first to discover ultrahigh-energy neutrinos which most likely were the result
of cosmic acceleration in outer space. "After more than a decade of
intense searching, we can now announce that we have found neutrinos that were
very probably generated in the vast expanses of outer space", reported
Professor Lutz Köpke of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). Neutrinos are
electrically neutral particles with tiny mass. High-energy neutrinos may be
generated in the proximity of black holes and are subsequently accelerated to
acquire their extraordinary energies. They can then travel through space almost
completely unhindered. On the downside, they are very difficult to detect. The
IceCube experiment has now found 28 neutrinos with energy greater than 50
tera-electron volts (TeV) all of which landed in the Antarctic ice between May
2010 and May 2012. "This discovery was one of the key objectives of the
IceCube experiment. It is fantastic that we have now reached this milestone,
and in a way it is a relief as well," said Köpke, who has been searching
for astrophysical neutrinos for more than 13 years and served as an internal
reviewer as the final analysis was scrutinized.