Nature paper describes IceCube’s detection of a 6.3-PeV neutrino via the Glashow resonance On December 8, 2016, a high-energy electron antineutrino hurtled to Earth from outer space at close to the speed of light carrying 6.3 PeV of energy. Deep inside the ice sheet at the South Pole, it smashed into an electron and […]
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2020
IceCube submits white paper outlining plans for IceCube-Gen2, the next-level extension of the detector The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is performing admirably, but to make new physics discoveries and continue to probe the mysteries of the universe, a bigger and more sensitive detector is needed. So, in August 2020, the international IceCube-Gen2 Collaboration submitted a white […]
2019
NSF approves funding of the IceCube Upgrade On June 25, 2019, NSF approved full funding to upgrade the IceCube detector, significantly extending its scientific capabilities to lower energies and improving the fidelity of past and future data through better ice measurements. The IceCube Upgrade project will introduce seven strings of optical modules at the bottom […]
2018
Science papers describe first source of high-energy neutrinos by the first successful multimessenger campaign involving neutrinos Two papers published in Science on July 12, 2018, provided the first evidence for a known blazar as a source of high-energy neutrinos detected by IceCube. This blazar, designated by astronomers as TXS 0506+056, was singled out following a […]
2015
IceCube confirms cosmic neutrino flux with muon neutrinos traversing Earth In a paper published on August 20, 2015, IceCube confirmed its 2013 astrophysical neutrino flux results with an independent analysis of neutrinos that had come mostly from the northern sky. Since IceCube is located at the South Pole, searching just the northern sky allowed IceCube […]
2014
IceCube announces the discovery of the highest energy neutrino at the time On September 2, 2014, the IceCube Collaboration published a paper in Physical Review Letters describing the detection of the highest energy neutrino ever observed at the time. The 2-PeV event was nicknamed Big Bird. […]
November 2013
IceCube results show strong evidence for an astrophysical neutrino flux In November 2013, the IceCube Collaboration announced the discovery of 26 astrophysical neutrinos in addition to Bert and Ernie—significantly more than background expectations. With energies between 30 and 1,200 TeV, these neutrinos were the most energetic ever observed. And though their flavors, directions, and energies […]
May 2013
Paper is published announcing the discovery of two PeV-energy neutrinos, indicating an astrophysical neutrino flux In May 2012, the IceCube group at Chiba University in Japan discovered two PeV-energy neutrinos in the data from the past year. One, nicknamed “Bert,” had been detected in the IceCube array in August 2011; the other, “Ernie,” had been […]
2011
The first fully instrumented physics run, IC86, begins Though IceCube had been taking data since 2005, it didn’t begin full operations until May 13, 2011, when the detector took its first set of data as a completed instrument. This is known as a “physics run.” Since then, IceCube has collected data continuously. […]
2010
IceCube construction is completed After seven seasons of construction, the final string was lowered into the last hole on December 18, 2010—and IceCube was complete! It was a milestone for science and was the culmination of efforts of hundreds of people around the world. Read more here and here. […]