PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Racing particles from space

South Pole observatory IceCube delivers first indications of neutrinos from cosmic accelerators

2013-11-22
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Dr. Andreas Battenberg
battenberg@zv.tum.de
49-892-891-0510
Technische Universitaet Muenchen
Racing particles from space South Pole observatory IceCube delivers first indications of neutrinos from cosmic accelerators

This news release is available in German.

A wide variety of particles perpetually pound onto the Earth's atmosphere. Most of these particles, like protons, electrons or helium nuclei have a certain mass and carry an electrical charge. When they collide with other particles or are deflected by the cosmic magnetic fields, the sun or the Earth, they alter their path and energy.

Not so, the uncharged and extremely light neutrinos: They speed right through all mater, more or less undisturbed. Every second billions of neutrinos pass through each square centimeter of the Earth's surface. The vast majority of these elementary particles are created in decay and transformation processes within the sun or in the Earth's atmosphere.

Neutrinos that stem from outside our solar system, from the outer reaches of our galaxy or even further away, are much rarer. These astrophysical neutrinos are highly interesting for physicists. They offer clues to the powerful cosmic objects they stem from: supernovas, black holes, pulsars, active galactic cores and other extreme extragalactic phenomena.

Now the scientists of the IceCube experiment, which includes researchers from the Cluster of Excellence Universe at the TUM, report they have observed, for the first time, high-energy neutrinos. The 28 events were recorded between May 2010 and May 2012. Each of these neutrinos had an energy of over 50 tera-electron volts (TeV). That is a thousand fold more energy than any neutrino from a terrestrial accelerator has ever reached.

"These are the first indications of neutrinos from outside our solar system," says TUM physicist Professor Elisa Resconi, who is a member of the IceCube collaboration. "These events can be explained neither by causes like atmospheric neutrinos, nor by other high-energy events like Myons created in the Earth's atmosphere during interactions with cosmic rays."

After observing hundreds of thousands of atmospheric neutrinos, the researchers are finally convinced they have proven the existence of neutrinos that fulfill their expectations of astrophysical neutrinos that in all likelihood stem from cosmic accelerators. "Now we must determine where these neutrinos come from and how they are created. We are at the frontier of a new astronomy with neutrinos," says Elisa Resconi.

The IceCube observatory is melted into the permafrost of the South Pole, an installation that was completed in 2010 following seven years of construction. At one cubic kilometer in size, it is the largest neutrino detector worldwide. 86 vertical wire ropes with a total of 5160 optical sensors were sunk 1450 to 2450 meters into the ice. IceCube detects neutrinos via tiny flashes of blue light, so called-Cherenkov radiation, which appears when neutrinos interact with ice, generating a shower of charged particles. The observatory is run by an international consortium under the direction of the University of Wisconsin, Madison (USA). The research team comprises some 250 scientists and engineers from USA, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan and other countries.



INFORMATION:



Publication:

Evidence for High-Energy Extraterrestrial Neutrinos at the IceCube Detector, IceCube Collaboration, Science, 22. Nov. 2013

Earlier results from IceCube:

http://www.tum.de/en/about-tum/news/press-releases/short/article/31191/



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Climate change may disrupt butterfly flight seasons

2013-11-22
Climate change may disrupt butterfly flight seasons The flight season timing of a wide variety of butterflies is responsive to temperature and could be altered by climate change, according to a UBC study that leverages more than a century's worth of ...

Pre-eclampsia rates on the rise in the US

2013-11-22
Pre-eclampsia rates on the rise in the US Study shows a relative increase of 322 percent for severe pre-eclampsia November 20, 2013 -- A latest study by researchers at the Mailman School of Public Health and Columbia University Medical ...

Researchers map brain areas vital to understanding language

2013-11-22
Researchers map brain areas vital to understanding language CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — When reading text or listening to someone speak, we construct rich mental models that allow us to draw conclusions about other people, objects, actions, events, mental ...

Breaking the code

2013-11-22
Breaking the code You may be sensitive to gluten, but you're not sure. Perhaps you can't put your finger on a recurring malaise, and your doctor is at a loss to figure it out. A diagnostic method recently developed by UC Santa Barbara ...

UCLA researchers' new technique improves accuracy, ease of cancer diagnosis

2013-11-22
UCLA researchers' new technique improves accuracy, ease of cancer diagnosis 'Deformability cytometry' can closely analyze more than 1,000 cells per second A team of researchers from UCLA and Harvard University have demonstrated a technique that, ...

Fun at work promotes employee retention but may hurt productivity

2013-11-22
Fun at work promotes employee retention but may hurt productivity Within the hospitality industry, manager support for fun is instrumental in reducing employee turnover, particularly for younger employees, according to a team of researchers. However, manager support for fun also ...

Will 2-D tin be the next super material?

2013-11-22
Will 2-D tin be the next super material? Theorists predict new single-layer material could go beyond graphene, conducting electricity with 100 percent efficiency at room temperature A single layer of tin atoms could be the world's first ...

Kessler Foundation study provides first Class 1 evidence for cognitive rehabilitation in MS

2013-11-22
Kessler Foundation study provides first Class 1 evidence for cognitive rehabilitation in MS MEMREHAB Trial shows a significant effect for cognitive rehabilitation in MS that lasts 6 months WEST ORANGE, NJ November 21, 2013. Kessler Foundation researchers ...

NASA sees Tropical Storm Helen affecting southeastern India

2013-11-22
NASA sees Tropical Storm Helen affecting southeastern India NASA's Aqua satellite captured visible and infrared imagery of slow-moving Tropical Storm Helen as it was spreading its western clouds over parts of southeastern India on November 21. On Nov. 21 at 07:55 ...

NASA catches Melissa's fickle life as a tropical storm

2013-11-22
NASA catches Melissa's fickle life as a tropical storm

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

UMass Amherst Nursing Professor Emerita honored as ‘Living Legend’

New guidelines aim to improve cystic fibrosis screening

Picky eaters by day, buffet by night: Butterfly, moth diets sync to plant aromas

Pennington Biomedical’s Dr. Leanne Redman honored with the E. V. McCollum Award from the American Society for Nutrition

CCNY physicists uncover electronic interactions mediated via spin waves

Researchers’ 3D-printing formula may transform future of foam

Nurture more important than nature for robotic hand

Drug-delivering aptamers target leukemia stem cells for one-two knockout punch

New study finds that over 95% of sponsored influencer posts on Twitter were not disclosed

New sea grant report helps great lakes fish farmers navigate aquaculture regulations

Strain “trick” improves perovskite solar cells’ efficiency

How GPS helps older drivers stay on the roads

Estrogen and progesterone stimulate the body to make opioids

Dancing with the cells – how acoustically levitating a diamond led to a breakthrough in biotech automation

Machine learning helps construct an evolutionary timeline of bacteria

Cellular regulator of mRNA vaccine revealed... offering new therapeutic options

Animal behavioral diversity at risk in the face of declining biodiversity

Finding their way: GPS ignites independence in older adult drivers

Antibiotic resistance among key bacterial species plateaus over time

‘Some insects are declining but what’s happening to the other 99%?’

Powerful new software platform could reshape biomedical research by making data analysis more accessible

Revealing capillaries and cells in living organs with ultrasound

American College of Physicians awards $260,000 in grants to address equity challenges in obesity care

Researchers from MARE ULisboa discover that the European catfish, an invasive species in Portugal, has a prolonged breeding season, enhancing its invasive potential

Rakesh K. Jain, PhD, FAACR, honored with the 2025 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research

Solar cells made of moon dust could power future space exploration

Deporting immigrants may further shrink the health care workforce

Border region emergency medical services in migrant emergency care

Resident physician intentions regarding unionization

Healthy nutrition and physical lifestyle choices lower cancer mortality risk for survivors, new ACS study finds

[Press-News.org] Racing particles from space
South Pole observatory IceCube delivers first indications of neutrinos from cosmic accelerators