In February 2023, The cosmic particle detector was deep in the Mediterranean Sea, the appearance of neutrino with about 20 to 30 times more energy than any other neutrino documented earlier. The molecule designated KM3-230213a had the energy calculated 220 petelektronowlts (PEV), much more than 10 PEV previously the most energetic neutrino. The discovery caused a lot of emotions among physicists, but also caused many questions.
Neutrino are The most abundant particles In the universe of mass. They are a kind of basic particle, which means that they do not break down into smaller ingredients, and therefore are very diminutive and featherlight. In fact, they are the lightest of all subatomic particles of mass. Neutrine also has no load (unlike, say, electrons, a different type of basic particle that is negative). As a result, only very rarely neutrine affects other matter; They often go through it straight without changing it. In fact, the trillions of neutrins moving in space will stop through the body since you started reading this article. For this reason, neutrine is sometimes called “ghost molecules”.
In the case of physicists, the detection of this anomally energetic neutrino could only be explained in two ways: either km3-230213a was a proof of the cosmic process, perhaps never observed before, with the potential to change our understanding of neutrinos; Or it was a disappointing measurement error. Scientists quickly started working to find out which explanation was true.
Now it seems that there is an answer. A comprehensive study published in the journal Physical Review X He compared the data KM3-230213a with information databases on other detected ghost particles. After analyzing the available data, scientists believe that this unusual, ultra-energy neutrino was not a statistical illusion.
But where did it come from?
Just as the rock cannot describe the nature of the mountain, the NEUTRINO Pew 220 itself is not useful in explaining the phenomenon that caused it. As the article admits, it is not possible to “draw strong conclusions about whether the observation indicates a new component of very high energy in the spectrum”.
But if there were other similar energy records, it would be a significant progress, indicating that there are other previously unseen phenomena. “This may mean that for the first time we see cosmogenic neutrino, produced when the space rays affected the cosmic microwave background, or this may indicate a new type of astrophysical source,” says the study.
Energy Neutrino 2023 also suggests that it could be emitted by one of the powerful cosmic accelerators, which we know in the universe: the Gamma or Supernova series, or maybe a relativistic stream-bid of plasma emitted from the black hole. However, many neutrins detected on Earth are atmospheric neutrine, produced by the influence of cosmic rays striking atoms in the atmosphere of the Earth and is much less energy. These are the same particles, but their likely origin affect their energy.
Different branches of the exploit of science and research neutrins for various reasons. Because neutrins travel through the universe, they are not deviated or absorbed, they can provide valuable information about very distant space events. Some scientists consider them “reporters from the universe” who from time to time travel to earth with data, which would otherwise be lost.
This story originally appeared Wired in Spanish and was translated from Spanish.