monster neutrino solves cosmic ray mystery...between cosmic rays detected at the telescope array in...
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http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22429894.500-monster-neutrino-solves-cosmicray-mystery.html#.VC0yuyldW9s
A COSMIC coincidence could be the first clue to the origin of a high-energyneutrino spotted in Antarctica – and may help pinpoint the source of high-energy cosmic rays that bombard Earth's atmosphere.
Cosmic rays are massive charged particles that barrel through deep space withenergies that dwarf those achieved at particle accelerators on Earth. Somemay be accelerated to such high speeds by supernovas, but others havemysterious roots.
"The origin of cosmic rays is one of the most intriguing questions inastrophysics," says Toshihiro Fujii at the University of Chicago. But becausethey can be deflected by magnetic fields, their sources are difficult to trace.
On the other hand, chargeless and nearly massless particles called neutrinos –a by-product of the processes that create cosmic rays – go direct, travelling in astraight line to Earth from their source. This directness could make neutrinosthe key to solving the cosmic ray puzzle.
Now astronomers may have observations to prove it. A new study reports aconnection between a gigantic burst of energy at the core of the Milky Way andneutrino strikes on Earth.
Amy Barger at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her colleagues notethat on 9 February 2012, the Chandra space telescope saw a spike in X-rayemissions from the centre of our galaxy, where a supermassive black hole isthought to be surrounded by a maelstrom of particles.
Three hours later – just long enough for some of those particles to havedecayed into neutrinos – an array of sensors buried in Antarctic ice, calledIceCube, saw one of the highest-energy neutrinos ever detected coming fromthe direction of the galactic centre (Physical Review D, doi.org/v3p). Thiscoincidence suggests that this neutrino, and probably lots more, was produced
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Source of the fast and furious? (Image:NASA/CXC/UMass/D. Wang et al)
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Monster neutrino solves cosmic-ray mystery
01 October 2014 by Hal HodsonMagazine issue 2989. Subscribe and save
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near the centre of the galaxy.
"This will be the first source of high-energy neutrinos ever detected," says LuisAnchordoqui at City University of New York, who wasn't involved in the study."They have only one precise correlation, but there are not many objects in thegalaxy that can accelerate particles like this."
If future observations confirm that neutrinos are accelerated to high energies byactivity at the galactic centre, the same source could explain high-energycosmic rays – although it's still unclear exactly how the accelerator works.Measuring the full range of energies of similar neutrinos will help calculate thepower of the accelerator that kicked them across the galaxy. "We are notimmediately going to be able to say what's going on there, but it's the first stepto doing that," says Anchordoqui.
Meanwhile, other observations suggest cosmic rays may come from evenfurther afield. In August, Fujii and his colleagues observed correlationsbetween cosmic rays detected at The Telescope Array in Utah and otherneutrinos spotted at IceCube. The source, based on their paths, seemed to beoutside the galaxy.
This article appeared in print under the headline "Super-neutrino key to cosmicray puzzle"
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10/2/2014 Monster neutrino solves cosmic-ray mystery - space - 01 October 2014 - New Scientist
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22429894.500-monster-neutrino-solves-cosmicray-mystery.html#.VC0yuyldW9s 2/3
New Scientist
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New Scientist magazine delivered every week
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near the centre of the galaxy.
"This will be the first source of high-energy neutrinos ever detected," says LuisAnchordoqui at City University of New York, who wasn't involved in the study."They have only one precise correlation, but there are not many objects in thegalaxy that can accelerate particles like this."
If future observations confirm that neutrinos are accelerated to high energies byactivity at the galactic centre, the same source could explain high-energycosmic rays – although it's still unclear exactly how the accelerator works.Measuring the full range of energies of similar neutrinos will help calculate thepower of the accelerator that kicked them across the galaxy. "We are notimmediately going to be able to say what's going on there, but it's the first stepto doing that," says Anchordoqui.
Meanwhile, other observations suggest cosmic rays may come from evenfurther afield. In August, Fujii and his colleagues observed correlationsbetween cosmic rays detected at The Telescope Array in Utah and otherneutrinos spotted at IceCube. The source, based on their paths, seemed to beoutside the galaxy.
This article appeared in print under the headline "Super-neutrino key to cosmicray puzzle"
Recommended by
If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, pleasecontact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rightsto photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphicswe own the copyright to.
More Latest news
Most read
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18:30 01 October 2014Some of the very massivestars that populated theearly universe explodedcompletely, sowing theseeds of future stars, solar
systems and galaxies
Shuttle map gives the best view yet ofEarth's curves
16:00 01 October 2014Fourteen years ago, the space shuttle flew amission to map the contours of our planet inunprecedented detail. Now the data is finallyreleased in full
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http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22429894.500-monster-neutrino-solves-cosmicray-mystery.html#.VC0yuyldW9s
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