Penn State University | 2017 Nov 22
[img3="This image shows a visual representation of one of the highest-energy neutrino detections superimposed on a view of the IceCube Lab near the South Pole. Credit: IceCube Collaboration"]http://science.psu.edu/news-and-events/ ... ge_preview[/img3][hr][/hr]For the first time, a science experiment has measured Earth's ability to absorb neutrinos -- the smaller-than-an-atom particles that zoom throughout space and through us by the trillions every second at nearly the speed of light. The experiment was achieved with the IceCube detector, an array of 5,160 basketball-sized sensors frozen deep within a cubic kilometer of very clear ice near the South Pole. ...
This new discovery with IceCube is an exciting addition to our deepening understanding of how the universe works. It also is a little bit of a disappointment for those who hope for an experiment that will reveal something that cannot be explained by the current Standard Model of Particle Physics. ...
IceCube's sensors do not directly observe neutrinos, but instead measure flashes of blue light, known as Cherenkov radiation, emitted after a series of interactions involving fast-moving charged particles that are created when neutrinos interact with the ice. By measuring the light patterns from these interactions in or near the detector array, IceCube can estimate the neutrinos' energies and directions of travel. The scientists found that the neutrinos that had to travel the farthest through Earth were less likely to reach the detector. ...
IceCube Reveals How Ghostly Neutrinos Are Stopped Cold
University of Wisconsin | 2017 Nov 22
Measurement of the multi-TeV neutrino cross section with IceCube using Earth absorption - IceCube Collaboration
- Nature (online 22 Nov 2017) DOI: 10.1038/nature24459
arXiv.org > hep-ex > arXiv:1711.08119 > 22 Nov 2017