Ultrahigh Energy Particle Astrophysics at IceCube

埋藏在南极冰盖深处的冰立方中微子天文台(ICNO)是世界上最大、最灵敏的高能中微子望远镜。它是一个10亿吨重的探测器，使用南极冰层作为高能大气和天体物理中微子的探测介质。冰立方观测到的大多数中微子的能量都在大气中微子的预期范围内，这些中微子是由来自银河系附近扇区的宇宙射线在大范围的空气骤雨中产生的粒子衰变而产生的。这些可以用来测量中微子的基本性质。在较高能量下，天体物理中微子是研究高能宇宙的关键探测器。由于其独特的性质，中微子甚至可以逃脱密集区域，不受银河系或银河系外磁场的偏转，畅通无阻地穿越充满光子的宇宙。因此，中微子提供了关于强大宇宙物体的动力学和内部的直接信息，这些物体可能是高能宇宙射线的起源：超新星、黑洞、脉冲星、活动星系核和其他极端的河外现象。PI有效地指导初级教员，包括女性和代表不足的少数族裔成员，并致力于通过参与NSF高级计划来加强STEM领域的多样性。该项目为学生和博士后提供了一个很好的环境，他们有能力为学术界、政府和工业界的科学和经济进步做出贡献。该奖项包括在高能天体物理、宇宙射线和中微子方面的天文内容的发展。这将给年轻的学生和社区带来前沿研究的兴奋。IceCube采用了空气簇射探测器IceTop，这是一个覆盖从10^15 eV到10^18 eV的能量范围的水切伦科夫探测器，其中强子相互作用得到了来自大型强子对撞机的数据更好的约束。该奖项资助的分析工作重点是从强子相互作用中解开最高能量宇宙射线的成分的问题。目前的强子相互作用模型并不能很好地描述超高能宇宙线空气簇射的行为。这个问题的解决可能会导致我们对地球加速器无法达到的相互作用的理解产生革命性的改进。

Embedded deep in the ice cap at the South Pole, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory (ICNO) is the world's largest and most sensitive high energy neutrino telescope. It is a 1 billion-ton detector using the Antarctic ice as a detection medium for high energy atmospheric and astrophysical neutrinos. Most of the neutrinos observed by IceCube exhibit energies in the range expected for atmospheric neutrinos originating from decays of particles produced in extensive air showers by cosmic rays coming from nearby sectors of the Milky Way Galaxy. These may be used to measure the fundamental properties of neutrinos. At higher energies, astrophysical neutrinos are key probes of the high-energy universe. Because of their unique properties, neutrinos escape even dense regions, are not deflected by galactic or extra-galactic magnetic fields and traverse the photon-filled universe unhindered. Thus, neutrinos provide direct information about the dynamics and interiors of the powerful cosmic objects that may be the origins of high energy cosmic rays: supernovae, black holes, pulsars, active galactic nuclei and other extreme extragalactic phenomena.The PI effectively mentors junior faculty, including women and members of underrepresented minorities and is committed to enhancing diversity in STEM fields through participation in an NSF ADVANCE program. The project provides an excellent environment for students and postdocs, who are well-equipped to contribute to scientific and economic progress in academia, government, and industry. The award includes development of planetarium content on high energy astrophysics, cosmic rays, and neutrinos. This will bring the excitement of cutting-edge research to young students and the community.IceCube incorporates an air shower detector, IceTop, a water Cherenkov detector which covers the energy range from 10^15 to 10^18 eV where hadronic interactions are better constrained by data from the Large Hadron Collider. The analysis work funded by this award focuses on the problem of disentangling the composition of the highest energy cosmic rays from hadronic interactions. The behavior of ultrahigh energy cosmic ray air showers is not well-described by current models of hadronic interactions. Resolution of this problem may result in transformative improvements in our understanding of interactions beyond the reach of terrestrial accelerators.