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A spokesperson for IceCube and other experts explain the observations that led to the identification of the source of high-energy neutrinos and cosmic rays.
IceCube Collaboration / NSF, IceCube Collaboration / NSF

The IceCube Laboratory at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica. Scientists at the site recently discovered the source of cosmic neutrinos, sometimes called "ghost particles". (Photo: Erik Beiser, IceCube / NSF)

Researchers at the University of Delaware are part of an international team of scientists recently discovered the source of cosmic neutrinos, ghostly subatomic particles that can travel in a straight line for billions of light-years, safely passing through galaxies, stars and anything on their path. 1965, p. Gaisser, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Delaware. "Active galaxies have long been regarded as a probable source of higher energy particles in nature."

"But to generalize, one must see another, or several others."

Scientists of The Neutral Ice Ice Observatory at the South Pole discovered a single neutrino, commonly referred to as "ghost particles", in September and traced it to a blazar galaxy at nearly 4 billion dollars. 39, light-years away, in the constellation of Orion, Gaisser m said Scientists refer to the galaxy as "Texas", a play on its scientific name, TXS 0506 + 056.

Tom Gaisser, physicist at the University of Delaware and James Roth at the South Pole. (Photo: University of Delaware)

The discovery was published in a pair of studies in the journal Sci UD researchers, who received $ 750,000 in 2016 to maintain and operate IceTop, a range of sensors on the surface of the IceCube project, also helped deploy the system that detected the neutrino.

Understanding a cubic kilometer of deep ice a mile below the surface at the South Pole, the massive particle detector is composed of more than 5000 light sensors – on a grid that is several football fields wide.

The Neutrino IceCube Ice Observatory is buried at depths between 1.5 and 2.5 kilometers below the South Pole. The only equipment visible is the IceCube Lab, also known as ICL, which houses computers that collect data from more than 5,000 light sensors in the ice. In this artistic rendering, based on a real image of the LCI, the IC170922 neutrino event is shown on the surface of Antarctica. (Photo: IceCube / Google Earth Collaboration: PGI / NASA US Geological Survival Data, NOAA, US Navy, NGA, GEBCO Landsat / Copernicus)

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. The clear, dark ice makes the interaction easier to catch.

"This is the first evidence we have of an active neutrino-emitting galaxy, which means we could soon start observing the universe using neutrinos to learn more about these objects. A way that would be impossible – the author Marcos Santander, astronomer of the University of Alabama

Gaisser said that the discovery was a bit of a surprise.

"This was not in the list of potential sources we were looking at," said Gaisser at the Campus News Service, UDaily. "This one never showed up before."

Neutrinos, hard to detect, are extremely tiny particles and are among the most abundant in the universe. They do not interact much with anything and get closer to the speed of light.

In fact, trillions of neutrinos just flew over your body as you read the two previous sentences.

They also have no charge and are not affected by the most powerful magnetic field. Because they rarely interact with matter and have almost no mass, they are often called "ghost particles."

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Albrecht Karle, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, talks about locating the source of a neutrino.
IceCube Collaboration / NSF

Scientists have said that recently published articles might hold the key to some of the greatest mysteries of the universe, including why matter has prevailed over the past few years. Antimatter shortly after the Big Bang. "Now that we have identified a real source, we will be able to focus on other objects like this one to find out about these extreme events that happened billions of years ago and which have precipitated these particles to our planet ". Gary Hill from the University of Adelaide Australia. In this illustration, a neutrino interacted with an ice molecule, producing a secondary trace of the blue light behind her. (Photo: Nicolle R. Fuller / NSF / IceCube)