Scientists using IceCube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica detect seven potential astrophysical tau neutrinos that passed through Earth

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Posted 18 Mar 2024

Updated 28 Mar 2024

2 min read

Astrophysical neutrinos are high-energy neutrinos that originate from the farthest reaches beyond our galaxy.
- As they travel massive distances undisturbed, they can help us understand about evolution of universe.

About Neutrinos
- Neutrinos are subatomic particles that have no electrical charge and very small mass, which might even be zero.
- They are the most abundant particles in the universe and they have very little interaction with matter.
- Neutrinos travel close to speed of light and are incredibly difficult to detect, hence called “ghost particles”.
- They are produced through many natural processes such as Sun’s nuclear reactions, particle decays in Earth etc., particle accelerators and nuclear power plants.
- Neutrinos come in three different flavors: electron, muon and tau.

About IceCube, the South Pole Neutrino Observatory
- It is a cubic-kilometer neutrino particle detector, located near the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
- IceCube is the first gigaton neutrino detector ever built and was primarily designed to observe neutrinos from the most violent astrophysical sources.
- It uses “strings” (cables) of digital optical modules (DOMs) to detect neutrinos.
- In 2013, IceCube presented its first evidence of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos originating from cosmic accelerators.

It is aimed at building underground laboratory for studying neutrinos.
It is jointly funded by Department of Atomic Energy and the Department of Science and Technology.
Location: Pottipuram in Bodi West hills of Theni District of Tamil Nadu.