The week began with some extra-nice halos and ended with an exodus of most of the summer people at the Pole. In between, there was typical detector maintenance as well as continued snow management around the IceCube Lab. […]
Week 6 at the Pole
Search for contained neutrino events at energies greater than 1 TeV in 2 years of data
Introduction The IceCube Neutrino Observatory was designed primarily to search for high-energy (TeV–PeV) neutrinos produced in distant astrophysical objects. A search for >100 TeV neutrinos interacting inside the instrumented volume has recently provided evidence for an isotropic flux of such neutrinos. At lower energies, IceCube collects large numbers of neutrinos from the weak decays of […]
Week 5 at the Pole
Giant spools sure do serve as a great photo prop. Now empty, these spools had a previous life, brought to the Pole full of cable and ready for action, for use on IceCube and other nearby experiments. But then what to do with them? […]
Measuring the flavor ratio of astrophysical neutrinos
In a new measurement of the flavor ratio of astrophysical neutrinos, submitted today to Physical Review Letters, the IceCube Collaboration has found good agreement with the standard source model. The collaboration also sets limits on nonstandard flavor compositions, which could be a signature for new physics in the neutrino sector, such as neutrino decay or sterile neutrinos. […]
Week 4 at the Pole
Last week we saw a sun halo, and a few weeks back we saw the newly inaugurated South Pole marker. Lo and behold, they have come together. Great shot! […]
Dawn Williams named APS Woman Physicist of the Month
Dawn Williams, Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, has been named the February Woman Physicist of the Month by APS’s Committee on the Status of Women in Physics. […]
Week 3 at the Pole
This “ring around the sun” is a halo, an optical phenomenon that occurs from light interacting with ice crystals in the atmosphere. It’s not an uncommon phenomenon, but for those who have never seen one, it’s quite something to behold. Halos can appear around the moon as well as the sun. […]
IceCube Oscillations: 3 years muon neutrino disappearance data
Introduction In the 1990s, Super-Kamiokande’s measurements of atmospheric neutrinos led to the acceptance of the mass-induced oscillation model. As of today, the three mixing angles, the solar mass splitting and the absolute value of the atmospheric mass splitting that control the oscillation phenomenon have been measured. The existence of CP-violation and the ordering of the […]
Week 2 at the Pole
At first glance it looks like IceCube winterover Stephan has sprouted some new teeth at the Pole. But they’re just ice clumps, not to worry. Stephan got them while he was participating in a half marathon—and out in the extreme cold, with temperatures around -30 °C, this is not an event for the faint of heart. […]
Week 1 at the Pole
Tagged any good muons lately? Maybe you just aren’t using the right equipment. Last week at the South Pole, IceCube folks set up equipment for some muon tagger runs—special calibration tests of the IceTop stations. You can see the various components that they set up, with the IceCube Laboratory (ICL) some distance off in the background. […]