7 February 2008

Speaker: Francis Halzen (U. Wisconsin)

Title: High-Energy Neutrino Astronomy: Towards a Kilometer-Scale Neutrino Observatory.

Abstract: Kilometer-scale neutrino detectors such as IceCube are discovery instruments covering nuclear and particle physics, cosmology and astronomy. Examples of their multidisciplinary missions include the search for the particle nature of dark matter and for additional small dimensions of space. In the end, their conceptual design is very much anchored to the observational fact that Nature produces protons and photons with energies in excess of 10²⁰ and10¹³ electronvolts, respectively. The cosmic ray connection sets the scale of cosmic neutrino fluxes. The problem has been to develop a robust and affordable technology to build the kilometer-scale neutrino detectors required to do the science. The AMANDA telescope using clear deep Antarctic ice as a Cherenkov detector of muons and showers initiated by neutrinos of all 3 flavors, has met this challenge. Having collected more than 5000 well-reconstructed muon neutrinos in the 50 GeV ~ 500 TeV energy, AMANDA represents a proof of concept for the ultimate kilometer-scale neutrino observatory, IceCube, now almost half complete and taking data.