Seminars and Colloquia

Astrophysical neutrinos and the search for their origins

by Prof. Justin Vandenbroucke (University of Winsconsin)

Europe/Rome
aula 131

aula 131

Description
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory has discovered a diffuse flux of astrophysical neutrinos spanning several TeV to several PeV in energy.  Combined with the recent discovery of gravitational waves, this means that astronomy with messengers other than photons is now a reality.  While the diffuse neutrino flux is increasingly well measured, the origin of the signal remains mysterious.  Gamma-ray bursts, star-forming galaxies, and steady emission from blazars are each disfavored as the predominant source class.  However, a high-energy muon neutrino was recently detected from the same direction as a flaring blazar detected in gamma rays by both the Fermi LAT and MAGIC.  I will present measurements of the diffuse astrophysical neutrino flux, constraints on its possible origins, and plans for a proposed future detector, IceCube-Gen2.