IceCube Neutrino Observatory

A cubic-kilometer neutrino detector embedded in Antarctic ice at the South Pole. It detects high-energy neutrinos through the light produced when they interact with the ice.

Cherenkov radiation: Electromagnetic radiation emitted when a charged particle travels through a medium faster than light travels through that medium. Charged particles from neutrino interactions emit the blue light IceCube’s sensors detect.
Neutrino astronomy: The study of astronomical sources using neutrinos as messengers of energetic processes. IceCube established a way to study the high-energy universe with neutrinos.
AMANDA: The Antarctic Muon And Neutrino Detector Array, a pioneering neutrino telescope built within South Pole ice. AMANDA demonstrated the ice-based approach that IceCube expanded to a cubic kilometer.
Bert and Ernie neutrinos: The nicknames for two exceptionally energetic neutrino events detected by IceCube in 2012. These events provided early evidence that IceCube could observe a diffuse astrophysical neutrino flux.
Cosmic-ray origin: The unresolved identification of the astrophysical sources that accelerate cosmic rays to the highest energies. Pinpointing neutrino sources may reveal where cosmic rays are produced.
Photomultiplier tube: A highly sensitive light detector that converts photons into an amplified electrical signal. These sensors register faint Cherenkov flashes in the Antarctic ice.
TXS 0506+056: A blazar associated with a high-energy neutrino event detected by IceCube in 2017. The event linked an IceCube neutrino to a plausible distant cosmic source.
Francis Halzen: An American theoretical physicist whose work helped advance neutrino astronomy and the development of IceCube. Halzen was a leading advocate and scientific architect of the observatory.
IceCube-170922A: A high-energy neutrino event detected by IceCube on September 22, 2017, that triggered coordinated follow-up observations. Its alert led to the multi-messenger observations associated with TXS 0506+056.
Neutrino flavor ratio: The relative proportions of electron, muon, and tau neutrinos in a neutrino population. Flavor measurements can distinguish source mechanisms and test neutrino propagation.

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