(Press-News.org) Contact information: Dr. Lutz Köpke
koepke@uni-mainz.de
49-613-139-22894
Johannes Gutenberg Universitaet Mainz
IceCube provides proof of neutrinos from the cosmos -- start of the neutrino astronomy era
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.
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is composed of 5,160 optical sensors placed in the Antarctic ice. Together they cover one cubic kilometer of clear South Polar ice. The high-precision optical sensors can detect weak flashes of blue light, also known as Cherenkov radiation, which is generated if neutrinos react near a detector and produce charged particles. The detector was completed in late 2010 and provides data around the clock. It is currently the largest facility designed to search for neutrinos from outer space.
Even though a few neutrinos were discovered in 1987 after the explosion of a supernova in the Large Magellanic Cloud, their energy was about a million times less than the particles that were just discovered. "Some of the neutrinos we have now detected have a thousand times more energy than neutrinos created in particle accelerators on earth," explained Köpke. "Only a third of the 28 high-energy neutrinos could have been generated by cosmic radiation in the Earth's atmosphere."
Unlike light, neutrinos can penetrate space dust unhindered and can even penetrate our planet Earth. In doing so, neutrinos provide information about their far-away sources. The highest energy neutrinos can be detected with IceCube, regardless of the direction they came from. "Over the next ten years we will continue to gather data which will tell us more about the origin of cosmic radiation and the unique properties of the neutrinos," said Köpke.
High-energy neutrinos as messengers from outer space
Billions of neutrinos penetrate every square centimeter of the Earth. Most are generated in the sun or in the Earth's atmosphere, which is constantly being bombarded with cosmic radiation. Neutrinos from further afield inside or outside of our galaxy are much rarer. The existence of such neutrinos and the process that leads to their creation in the proximity of supernovas, black holes, pulsars, active galaxies, or other extreme extra-galactic phenomena have been discussed in many scientific papers. The IceCube Observatory was specifically developed to examine the frequency and type of high-energy neutrinos as well as to gain an understanding of their origins.
The findings with a significance greater than four standard deviations now published in Science illustrate that the neutrinos observed have properties that clearly indicate an origin in cosmic accelerators. "The decisive analysis was carried out by a group of postdoctoral researchers and doctoral candidates at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, two of whom were German. Work is now being done to improve the precision of the observations and to understand what the signal means and where it comes from," explained Köpke.
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the geographic South Pole was completed in December 2010 after seven years of construction, on time and within budget. The American National Science Foundation (NSF) financed the instrumentation and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) provided sizable funding for the experiment and the scientific personnel needed to conduct it. The project includes 250 physicists from the US, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Korea. Professor Lutz Köpke's work group at Mainz University is part of the "Precision Physics, Fundamental Interactions and Structure of Matter" (PRISMA) Cluster of Excellence.
###
Publication:
M. G. Aartsen et al., IceCube Collaboration
Evidence for High-Energy Extraterrestrial Neutrinos at the IceCube Detector
Science, 21 October 2013
DOI: 10.1126/science.1242856
Images:
http://www.uni-mainz.de/bilder_presse/08_physik_etap_icecube_neutrinos_01.jpg
Artistic rendering of the IceCube detector covering one cubic kilometer. Eighty six 60-centimeter wide holes were melted into the snow surface where sensors were placed at depths of 1,450 to 2,450 meters and then frozen in place. The blue cone symbolizes Cherenkov light radiation along a particle trail. The size of the colored cone indicates how much light the sensor has registered, the rainbow colors indicate the time (earlier arrival: red, later arrival: blue).
source: IceCube/NSF
http://www.uni-mainz.de/bilder_presse/08_physik_etap_icecube_neutrinos_02.jpg
Graphic presentation of the reaction of an extremely high-energy neutrino in the IceCube Detector. The size of the colored cone indicates how much light the sensor has registered, the rainbow colors indicate the time (earlier arrival: red, later arrival: blue).
source: IceCube/NSF
http://www.uni-mainz.de/bilder_presse/08_physik_etap_icecube_neutrinos_03.jpg
View over the ice at the geographic South Pole to the above-ground measuring station for the IceCube experiment. The data from the photo sensors embedded in the ice are extracted and analyzed in computer farms. The picture comes from the dusk phase during the transition from the Antarctic winter (sun below the horizon) to the Antarctic summer (sun above the horizon).
source: Sven Lindstrom, IceCube/NSF
Further information:
Professor Dr. Lutz Köpke
Experimental Particle and Astroparticle Physics (ETAP)
Institute of Physics
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU)
D 55099 Mainz, GERMANY
phone +49 6131 39-22894
fax +49 6131 39-25169
e-mail: koepke@uni-mainz.de
http://www.etap.physik.uni-mainz.de/index_ENG.php
Related links:
http://icecube.wisc.edu/gallery/press
IceCube provides proof of neutrinos from the cosmos -- start of the neutrino astronomy era
IceCube particle detector at the South Pole discovers 28 high-energy neutrinos/ Publication in SCIENCE
2013-11-22
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Research funding has become prone to bubble formation
2013-11-22
Research funding has become prone to bubble formation
"In finance, the first condition for a bubble occurs when too much liquidity is concentrated on too few assets. The second is the presence of speculators. In science, similarly, if too much research ...
Sea level rise forecasts helped by insights into glacier melting
2013-11-22
Sea level rise forecasts helped by insights into glacier melting
Predictions of sea level rise could become more accurate, thanks to new insight into how glacier movement is affected by melting ice in summer
Predictions of sea level rise could become more ...
Continued increases in ADHD diagnoses and treatment with medication among US children
2013-11-22
Continued increases in ADHD diagnoses and treatment with medication among US children
New study led by the CDC reports that half of US children diagnosed with ADHD received that diagnosis by age 6
Washington D.C., November 22, 2013 – A new study published in the Journal ...
Research team discovers 'immune gene' in Neanderthals
2013-11-22
Research team discovers 'immune gene' in Neanderthals
Early humans had a selection advantage, as scientists working under the direction of the University of Bonn have learned
A research group at Bonn University and international collaborators discovered ...
LSUHSC research finds combo of plant nutrients kills breast cancer cells
2013-11-22
LSUHSC research finds combo of plant nutrients kills breast cancer cells
New Orleans, LA – A study led by Madhwa Raj, PhD, Research Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans and its Stanley S. Scott Cancer ...
Scientists have been able to grow artificial skin using stem cells from the umbilical cord
2013-11-22
Scientists have been able to grow artificial skin using stem cells from the umbilical cord
1 of the problems major burn victims have is that, using the current protocols for artificial skin, they need to wait various weeks in order for it to be grown, using ...
Satellite trio to explore the Earth's magnetic field
2013-11-22
Satellite trio to explore the Earth's magnetic field
Textbook launch for the SWARM satellites
In a dense fog, a Russian Rockot rocket on 22 November 2013 cleared the launchpad of the Baikonur Cosmodrome on schedule at 13:02:15 CET. In ...
Copper promises cheaper, sturdier fuel cells
2013-11-22
Copper promises cheaper, sturdier fuel cells
Copper nanowires offer an efficient, inexpensive approach to solar energy harvesting
DURHAM, N.C. -- Copper adorns the Statue of Liberty, makes sturdy, affordable wiring, and helps our bodies absorb iron. Now, researchers at Duke ...
New study helps explain why some ear and respiratory infections become chronic
2013-11-22
New study helps explain why some ear and respiratory infections become chronic
Scientists have figured out how a bacterium that causes ear and respiratory illnesses is able to elude immune detection in the middle ear, likely contributing ...
Epigenetic changes may explain chronic kidney disease
2013-11-22
Epigenetic changes may explain chronic kidney disease
PHILADELPHIA – The research of physician-scientist Katalin Susztak, MD, PhD, associate professor of Medicine in the Renal Electrolyte and Hypertension Division, at the Perelman ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Corpse flowers are threatened by spotty recordkeeping
Riding the AI wave toward rapid, precise ocean simulations
Are lifetimes of big appliances really shrinking?
Pink skies
Monkeys are world’s best yodellers - new research
Key differences between visual- and memory-led Alzheimer’s discovered
% weight loss targets in obesity management – is this the wrong objective?
An app can change how you see yourself at work
NYC speed cameras take six months to change driver behavior, effects vary by neighborhood, new study reveals
New research shows that propaganda is on the rise in China
Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds
Novel genes linked to rare childhood diarrhea
New computer model reveals how Bronze Age Scandinavians could have crossed the sea
Novel point-of-care technology delivers accurate HIV results in minutes
Researchers reveal key brain differences to explain why Ritalin helps improve focus in some more than others
Study finds nearly five-fold increase in hospitalizations for common cause of stroke
Study reveals how alcohol abuse damages cognition
Medicinal cannabis is linked to long-term benefits in health-related quality of life
Microplastics detected in cat placentas and fetuses during early pregnancy
Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming
Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly
Alcohol makes male flies sexy
TB patients globally often incur "catastrophic costs" of up to $11,329 USD, despite many countries offering free treatment, with predominant drivers of cost being hospitalization and loss of income
Study links teen girls’ screen time to sleep disruptions and depression
Scientists unveil starfish-inspired wearable tech for heart monitoring
Footprints reveal prehistoric Scottish lagoons were stomping grounds for giant Jurassic dinosaurs
AI effectively predicts dementia risk in American Indian/Alaska Native elders
First guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis calls for changes in practice to improve outcomes
Existing international law can help secure peace and security in outer space, study shows
Pinning down the process of West Nile virus transmission
[Press-News.org] IceCube provides proof of neutrinos from the cosmos -- start of the neutrino astronomy eraIceCube particle detector at the South Pole discovers 28 high-energy neutrinos/ Publication in SCIENCE