High energy neutrino astronomy and its telescopes

Journal Article · Tue Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1995 · AIP Conference Proceedings

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.48812· OSTI ID:279574

Halzen, F ^[1]

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1. Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 (United States)

Doing astronomy with photons of energies in excess of a GeV has turned out to be extremely challenging. Efforts are underway to develop instruments that may push astronomy to wavelengths smaller than 10{sup {minus}14} cm by mapping the sky using high energy neutrinos instead. Neutrino astronomy, born with the identification of thermonuclear fusion in the sun and the particle processes controlling the fate of a nearby supernova, will reach outside the galaxy and make measurements relevant to cosmology. The field is immersed in technology in the domains of particle physics to which many of its research goals are intellectually connected. To mind come the search for neutrino mass, cold dark matter (supersymmetric particles?) and the monopoles of the Standard Model. While a variety of collaborations are pioneering complementary methods by building telescopes with effective area in excess of 0.01 km{sup 2}, we show here that the natural scale of a high energy neutrino telescope is 1 km{sup 2}. With several thousand optical modules and a price tag unlikely to exceed 100 million dollars, the scope of a kilometer-scale instrument is similar to that of experiments presently being commissioned such as the SNO neutrino observatory in Canada and the Superkamiokande experiment in Japan.

• Research Organization: University of Wisconsin
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-76ER00881
• OSTI ID: 279574
• Report Number(s): CONF-9409150--
• Journal Information: AIP Conference Proceedings, Journal Name: AIP Conference Proceedings Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 342; ISSN 0094-243X; ISSN APCPCS
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

66 PHYSICS
ACTIVE GALAXY NUCLEI
CHERENKOV COUNTING
COSMIC NEUTRINOS
COSMIC PROTONS
COSMIC RAY SOURCES
DETECTORS
NEUTRINO BEAMS
NEUTRINO DETECTION
NONLUMINOUS MATTER
STANDARD MODEL
TELESCOPES