Using ARCA observatory deep beneath the Mediterranean Sea near Sicily, scientists have detected a subatomic particle called a neutrino boasting record-breaking energy in another important step toward understanding some of the universe’s most cataclysmic events. The researchers believe the neutrino came from beyond the Milky Way galaxy. The researchers are part of the KM3NeT (Cubic Kilometre Neutrino Telescope) Collaboration.
Significance of new discovery
🔹 Record-Breaking Energy – At 120 quadrillion electronvolts (PeV), this neutrino is among the most energetic ever detected.
🔹 Traced Beyond the Milky Way – A step toward identifying distant astrophysical phenomena, like supermassive black holes, gamma-ray bursts, and colliding neutron stars.
🔹 Alternative Cosmic Messengers – Unlike light, neutrinos travel unhindered through matter, offering a clearer view of the universe’s most energetic processes.
KM3NeT: The Mediterranean Neutrino Telescope
KM3NeT consists of two deep-sea detectors:
🔹 ARCA (Astroparticle Research with Cosmics in the Abyss) – 3.4 km deep near Sicily, focused on detecting high-energy neutrinos.
🔹 ORCA (Oscillation Research with Cosmics in the Abyss) – 2.4 km deep near Provence, France, studying low-energy neutrinos.
Neutrinos and detections
- Neutrinos are electrically neutral, undisturbed by even the strongest magnetic field.
- They rarely interact with matter. Their detection requires massive observatories.
- When a neutrino collides with a particle underwater, it produces a faint blue glow called Cherenkov radiation, which is picked up by KM3NeT’s optical sensors.
- They travel through walls, all the way through the Earth, and all the way from the edge of the universe
(Source: The Hindu)
