Scientists Identify Most Potent "Phantom Particle" Yet, Boasting Energy Levels 30,000 Times Over LHC's Particle Contents
Unveiling an extragalactic neutrino with an astounding energy level, scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery that could potentially be the first-ever observation of a rarely seen particle spawned from interactions with the primordial light of the cosmos. This extraordinary particle was detected by a detector buried deep beneath the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Malta, marking a significant milestone in the world of physics.
The neutrino, traveling at close to the speed of light and nearly evading other forms of matter, possessed an energy roughly 30 times greater than any neutrino detected before. Its origin traces back beyond our galaxy, leading researchers to believe that dramatic astrophysical occurrences or rare interactions between matter and the universe’s earliest visible light, the cosmic microwave background, could be responsible for its creation. The team's research detailing their findings was published in the prestigious journal, Nature, today.
The detection, initially registered on February 13, 2023 (two years prior), required meticulous analysis and interpretation before the particle’s identity and potential origin could be confirmed.
Neutrinos have captivated the interest of physicists for their unique properties, leading numerous governments to invest substantial sums in detecting experiments. One such venture is the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), a project at Fermilab in South Dakota, which plunges one mile below the Earth's surface to harness the potential of these fascinating particles.
The Cubic Kilometre Neutrino Telescope (KM3NeT), comprising two particle detectors placed beneath the Mediterranean Sea at depths of approximately 11,318 and 8,038 feet, made the monumental discovery. These optical modules, fastened to the seafloor, detect faint light produced when neutrinos interact with charged particles.
To successfully detect neutrinos, these detectors must be spacious (accounting for the “Cubic Kilometre” in the telescope’s name) and undisturbed. This is why they are stationed at remote locations like deep underground, the ocean bed, or within ice sheets.
The team detected a muon crossing one of the KM3NeT detectors on February 13, 2023, in an impressive event that generated signals across more than one-third of the detector’s sensors. The muon's trajectory and energy led the team to believe it resulted from an extragalactic, rather than atmospheric, neutrino interaction.
With an estimated energy of about 120 petaelectronvolts (PeV), the muon's parent neutrino could harbor an even higher energy level: 220 PeV or roughly 30,000 times the proton energy in CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, the world’s most potent particle accelerator.
Paschal Coyle, the KM3NeT experiment spokesperson at the time of the discovery and a researcher at France’s Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) – Centre de Physique des Particules in Marseille, likened the energy contained within this elementary particle to a ping pong ball plummeting from just one meter above the ground—yet condensed into an infinitesimally small point of matter.
To build an accelerator capable of producing this high-energy neutrino would require a device that encircled the Earth at the altitude of geostationary satellites, according to Coyle.
Neutrinos are notorious for their elusive nature, as they rarely interact with matter. More than 100 trillion of these ghostly particles pass through your body each second, making them the second most common particle in the universe after photons. Nevertheless, their rarity and elusiveness make them endlessly intriguing to researchers.
Last year, IceCube Neutrino Observatory data revealed seven potential signals for a particular flavor of neutrino, uncovered from nearly a decade of recorded data. This discovery underscores the immense challenges researchers face in detecting these enigmatic particles.
The neutrino’s origin beyond our galaxy is undeniable, but its provenance remains enigmatic, with possibilities ranging from cosmogenic sources (generated through interactions between cosmic rays and photons from the cosmic microwave background) to astrophysical sources (emitted from one of the universe’s most energetic objects).
Damien Dornic, a researcher at CNRS, is hopeful that archival data and new observations may help pinpoint the neutrino's origin. Beaming with optimism, Aart Heijboer, a physicist at the Nikhef National Institute for Subatomic Physics in the Netherlands, envisions future results either discovering new events or clarifying the nature of the 2023 observation.
[1] https://arxiv.org/abs/2301.09621
[2] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-05729-1
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_Hadron_Collider
[4] https://www.icecube.wisc.edu/
[5] https://www.km3net.org/
This groundbreaking discovery in physics, with its potential ties to rare interactions between matter and the cosmic microwave background, opens up exciting avenues for future research in science and technology. The detection of such high-energy neutrinos could lead to the development of more advanced neutrino detectors, pushing the boundaries of what we currently know about these mysterious particles.
