NEW YORK — A neutrino detector submerged within the Mediterranean Sea has sniffed out probably the most energetic ghost particle but, scientists reported Wednesday.
The newly detected neutrino is round 30 occasions extra energetic than the earlier recordholder. Scientists assume it got here from outdoors the Milky Manner galaxy however its actual supply stays a thriller.
Neutrinos spew from stars just like the solar and trillions stream by means of our our bodies each second. They’re referred to as ghost particles as a result of their mind-bogglingly small mass makes them tough to identify.
Scientists aren’t capable of detect neutrinos zipping round on their very own. As an alternative, they measure what occurs when the particles stumble upon different bits of matter.
Two years in the past, a neutrino collided with matter and produced a tiny particle known as a muon that pinged by means of the underwater detector, producing flashes of blue mild. The researchers labored backward to estimate the power of the neutrino and printed their findings Wednesday within the journal Nature.
“That is a part of making an attempt to grasp the highest-energy processes within the universe,” stated examine co-author Aart Heijboer from the Nationwide Institute for Subatomic Physics Nikhef within the Netherlands.
The detector that made the invention is a part of a deep-sea neutrino observatory that’s nonetheless beneath development. Neutrino detectors are sometimes positioned underwater, beneath ice or deep underground to guard towards radiation on the Earth’s floor.
Discovering this energetic neutrino so early might imply there are extra on the market than scientists initially thought.
“It is a signal that we’re heading in the right direction, and it is also a touch that perhaps there is likely to be a shock,” stated physicist Denver Whittington from Syracuse College who was not concerned with the brand new analysis.
It is too early to pin down the supply of the neutrino, stated physicist Mary Bishai with Brookhaven Nationwide Laboratory.
“It is one occasion,” stated Bishai, who was not concerned with the examine. “We’ve got to see what the opposite telescopes are additionally observing.”
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