The neutrino is a mysterious subatomic particle that has no electric charge and an extremely small mass, making it extremely difficult to detect. Despite these challenges, an international collaboration has successfully captured the neutrino with the greatest energy observed so far, and its exact origin remains to be determined. This detection is considered an extraordinary achievement, with Professor Juan de Dios Zornoza of the University of Valencia describing it as “something unique and special.”
The discovery was made possible by the Km3net collaboration, a powerful telescope submerged in the Mediterranean Sea, which brings together over 360 scientists, engineers, technicians, and students from 68 institutions across 21 countries. The results of the study were published in the scientific journal Nature. The detection, known as KM3-230213A, occurred two years ago and estimated the particle’s energy to be around 220 PEV (220,000 billion electronvolts), which is 30 times more energy than any previously detected neutrino.
Neutrinos interact very weakly with matter, making them difficult to detect, and are often referred to as “ghost particles.” The detected neutrino was observed through the interaction of a muon, an elementary particle similar to an electron but with more mass, which induces a bluish light in the water. This signal was captured by over a third of the active sensors in the telescope. The trajectory and energy of the muon suggest that the neutrino originated from outside the Milky Way galaxy, although its exact origin remains unknown.
The discovery opens up new possibilities for understanding the universe, with the origin of the neutrino potentially being an astrophysical source such as a blazar or a cosmogenic neutrino. This finding “opens a new chapter in the astronomy of neutrinos and a new observation window to the universe,” according to Paschal Coyle, spokesperson for the Km3net collaboration. The astronomy of neutrinos is a rapidly expanding field, and this discovery could lead to new insights into the universe and potentially uncover unknown phenomena.
The Km3net telescope is a massive infrastructure distributed across two detectors, located at depths of 3,450 and 2,450 meters near Sicily and Provence. The detection was achieved with only one-tenth of the final configuration of the installation, demonstrating its great potential. Spanish participation in this discovery included the Institute of Corpuscular Physics, the Institute for Integrated Management of Coastal Areas, and the University of Granada, among others. These groups contributed to the construction of the telescope and are involved in research lines! such as multimensajero astronomy and the search for dark matter.
A new observation window to the Universe
The Km3net collaboration has achieved a significant milestone in the detection of high-energy neutrinos, and this discovery is expected to pave the way for further research into the universe. The ability to detect these particles could provide new insights into the universe, potentially leading to a greater understanding of astrophysical sources and cosmogenic neutrinos. With the Km3net telescope expected to be fully operational between 2028 and 2030, the future of neutrino astronomy looks promising, and it is likely that new discoveries will be made in the coming years.
