NEWS: Francis Halzen won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his contribution to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos.

ABOUT ICECUBE

• Neutrino detector embedded in ~1 cubic kilometre of Antarctic ice.
• Located at the South Pole.
• Completed → 2010.
• Contains → ~5,160 optical sensors.

COSMIC NEUTRINOS

• Extremely weakly interacting subatomic particles.
• High-energy cosmic neutrinos originate from energetic astrophysical events.

CHERENKOV LIGHT

• Neutrino interaction → charged particles → characteristic blue flash.
• Cherenkov light occurs when charged particles travel faster than light travels through that medium.

KEY DISCOVERIES

• 2013 → first high-energy cosmic neutrinos detected.
• 2018 → one neutrino traced to a distant blazar.

SIGNIFICANCE

• Enables neutrino astronomy → studies violent and distant cosmic events.
• Neutrinos can travel vast distances → provide information about astrophysical sources.