Astrophysical Neutrinos with IceCube

TL;DR

IceCube is a large neutrino observatory designed to detect high-energy astrophysical neutrinos, using Cherenkov light detection in ice, and has found potential correlations with cosmic sources like blazars.

Contribution

This paper details IceCube's detection techniques for astrophysical neutrinos and reports a possible correlation between a neutrino and a blazar in outburst.

Findings

Detection of diffuse astrophysical neutrinos.

Analysis of contained and through-going neutrino events.

Potential correlation between a high-energy neutrino and a blazar.

Abstract

The 1 km$^3$ IcCube neutrino observatory was built to find high-energy neutrinos that are associated with the sources of ultra-high energy cosmic rays. Its 5,160 optical sensors detect Cherenkov light from the charged particles produced when neutrinos interact in the ice. In this talk, I will describe the techniques that IceCube has used to search for astrophysical neutrinos. An emphasis will be given to diffuse neutrinos (not associated with a specific source), including analyses of contained events and energetic through-going neutrinos. At the end, I will discuss multi-messenger astronomy, and present an intriguing correlation between a high-energy IceCube neutrino and a blazar in outburst.