IceCube Sees Strong Signs for Cosmic Neutrinos

The South Pole neutrino telescope IceCube is the world's largest particle detector. It encompasses one cubic kilometer of ice and is fitted with a large number of digital optical modules. Registering neutrinos, these sensors help us understand where cosmic rays come from and learn more about events such as gamma ray bursts and supernovae.

Between May 2010 and May 2012, the IceCube observatory detected 28 neutrinos with energies of slightly more than a thousand teraelectronvolts.

Particles with such high energies may point to unknown energetic astrophysical processes deep in the cosmos and thus help to explore the origin of cosmic rays. The possibility to observe distant sources from outside the Galaxy would open up a new way of looking at the cosmos.

RWTH Aachen University significantly contributed to the construction, operation and data analysis of this international large-scale project. For further information, please visit the web pages of the Aachen IceCube Group at the Institute of Physics IIIB.