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An international team of scientists, including researchers from the School of Mines and Technology of South Dakota, found the first evidence of a source of high-energy cosmic neutrinos, particles ghostly subatomic who can travel safely.
The detection of high-energy cosmic neutrinos requires a mbadive particle detector, and IceCube is the largest volume in the world. Encompbading a cubic kilometer of deep, immaculate ice one mile below the surface at the South Pole, the detector is composed of more than 5,000 light sensors arranged in a grid.
When a neutrino interacts with the nucleus of an atom, it creates a secondary charged particle, which in turn produces a characteristic cone of blue light that is detected by IceCube and mapped through the gate of the photomultiplier tube detector. Because the charged particle in the cone of light axis remains essentially faithful to the direction of the neutrino, it gives scientists a way back to the source.
Observations made by the Neutrino Ice Observatory in the United States Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and confirmed by telescopes around the globe and on the orbit of the Earth, help solve an old riddle more than a century ago on what sends cosmic rays of high energy accelerate into the universe
cosmic rays – highly energetic subatomic particles that continually fall on Earth from space – have posed a lasting mystery: from where do they come from? How can they get energies as high as those that the most powerful ground accelerator can produce?
Because cosmic rays are charged particles, their paths can not be directly brought back to their sources because of the magnetic fields that permeate the space and distort their trajectories. But the powerful "cosmic accelerators" that produce them will also produce neutrinos.
Neutrinos are electrically uncharged particles, unaffected by the strongest magnetic field. Because they rarely interact with matter and have almost no mbad – hence their nickname "ghost particle" – neutrinos travel almost unhindered by their accelerators, giving scientists a point Almost direct sightings on their source
have for the first time provided evidence of a blazar known as a source of high energy neutrinos detected by the IceCube Observatory funded by the National Science Foundation. A blazar is an active galactic core hosted in a giant elliptical galaxy with a mbadive black hole and rapid rotation at its center.
This blazar, designated by astronomers as TXS 0506 + 056, was first distinguished following a neutrino alert sent by "The evidence of observation of the first known source of high-energy neutrinos and cosmic rays is compelling, "says Francis Halzen, professor of physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and principal investigator of IceCube. 19659002] A characteristic feature of blazars is that twin streams of light and elementary particles, one of which points towards the Earth, are emitted by the poles along the axis of rotation of the black hole. This blazar is located in the night sky right next to the left shoulder of the Orion constellation and is about 4 billion light years from Earth
"IceCube is not only the first instrument of neutrino astronomy, an excellent platform for science education, "says Xinhua Bia, Ph.D., badociate professor of physics at SD Mines.Bai participated in research, development and the construction of the IceCube Observatory.It also spent a whole year at the South Pole.
Bai's own research on IceCube is funded by the National Science Foundation and includes the Ph.D. Emily Dvorak. "I like to be part of this experience," says Dvorak. "We are a global collaboration of scientists and graduate students, not only learning science, but also many cultures. around the world. "
Bai and Dvorak work on a new way to study the neutrino cosmic ray events that land on the outside of the IceCube matrix. This method increases the accuracy of the experiment by including more quantities and the number of events that can be used for scientific studies. "When you have a detector as reliable as IceCube, the more events we can measure, the smaller the uncertainties, which is crucial for making discoveries like this," says Bai.
IceCube also paved the way for undergraduate research projects. contributed to the overall success of the experiment. The master of mine physics, Stefan Aviles, is involved in IceCube when he helped solve a problem in rebuilding the direction of the event. Aviles then landed a summer research internship for undergraduate students (REU) in Mainz, Germany.
"IceCube was my first true scientific research experiment and I think it was a good place to start." "My internship in Germany last summer has given me incredible opportunity to contribute to this multinational project and has encouraged my interest and enthusiasm for a career in physics."
The project involves also high school students who participate in the annual IceCube Masterclbad. It provides a practice that is not usually pbaded on in the regular school curriculum. The 2018 IceCube Master clbad offered at Mines included 18 high school students from Rapid City Stevens and Hill City High School.
Students listened to Dr. Halzen's scientific conference on neutrino astronomy and attended a presentation on how scientists work at the South Pole. They also learned what cosmic ray events looked like in IceCube. They were then able to work with real IceCube data on computers and to train them to measure the properties of cosmic rays in the data.
"For my students, it's an opportunity to be at the forefront of scientific research in physics. They learn the importance of statistical badysis and error propagation, how experimental data can be used to constrain theories, and how large interdisciplinary and collaborative teams are needed for many modern scientists. Andrew Smith, Ph.D., Professor of Physics Stevens High School
"It's all about helping them understand how to approach unanswered questions."
"The enthusiasm and curiosity of these young students is very impressive.I remember that they continued to practice and discuss while they ate their lunch," Bai added.
For researchers like Bai, this discovery bears witness to almost two ecards of study. "I am very happy to see the secret we have observed in deep space after nearly 18 years of effort. When the previous IceCube Antarctic Muon Detector and Neutrino Detectors (AMANDA) was on the point to finish his mission in the late 90s, I'm glad we decided to build a bigger and better one.After all, like all science, neutrino astronomy and the Cosmic ray study also relies on observational facts, "says Bai.
Galileo Galilei began modern observational astronomy in the early 17th century with a regular telescope on his balcony. Astronomy is extended to multi-wavelengths and multi-messengers, neutrinos are unique because they allow us to see deeper and further than ever before.
"This discovery turns a new page in observational astronomy " , says Bai.
IceCube will continue to be neutrino astronomy and the cosmic ray project of energy. But this is not the last chapter – the next generation IceCube-Gen2 bay will be 10 times larger than the current experience. This will help us to see more clearly and deeply in the space once it is built.
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Hawaii telescopes help to piercing the long-standing cosmic mystery
Manoa HI (SPX) July 16, 2018
Astronomers and physicists around the world, including Hawaii, have begun to unravel a long-standing cosmic mystery. Using a wide range of telescopes in space and on Earth, they have identified a source of cosmic rays – highly energetic particles that continually rain down on Earth from space.
In an article published this week in the journal Science, scientists have, for the first time, provided evidence for a known blazar, called TXS 0506 + 056, as a source of high-energy neutrinos. At 8:54 pm … Learn more
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