A deep-sea observatory under construction near Sicily has detected a neutrino with record-breaking energy, marking a major breakthrough in understanding the universe’s most powerful cosmic events.
Scientists working on the KM3NeT (Cubic Kilometre Neutrino Telescope) Collaboration have detected an ultra-high energy neutrino deep beneath the Mediterranean Sea, likely originating from beyond the Milky Way.
The neutrino, detected in February 2023 by ARCA, a detector located 3,450 meters (2.1 miles) below the sea near Sicily, was measured at 120 quadrillion electronvolts (PeV)—30 times more energetic than any neutrino observed before.
🔹 What Are Neutrinos?
Neutrinos are ghost-like subatomic particles that rarely interact with matter, passing through stars, planets, and galaxies unimpeded. Unlike cosmic rays, which are affected by magnetic fields, neutrinos travel in a straight line from their source, making them cosmic messengers that help scientists trace violent astrophysical events.
🔹 Why It Matters
This discovery opens a new frontier in particle astrophysics, offering a way to study the most extreme energy processes in the universe, such as:
✅ Supermassive black holes consuming surrounding matter
✅ Gamma-ray bursts from dying stars
✅ High-energy cosmic ray interactions
Paschal Coyle, a physicist at France’s Marseille Particle Physics Centre (CPPM) and a lead researcher on the project, described the neutrino’s energy as “in a completely unexplored region.”
🔹 A Game-Changer for Astrophysics
The KM3NeT observatory consists of two deep-sea detectors:
ARCA (Sicily, 3,450m deep) → Detects high-energy neutrinos
ORCA (France, 2,450m deep) → Detects low-energy neutrinos
Detecting neutrinos requires specialized facilities deep underwater or in ice, where a neutrino interaction produces Cherenkov radiation, a faint flash of light that allows scientists to track its trajectory.
Researchers determined the detected neutrino was a muon-type neutrino of cosmic origin, confirming its path had traversed 140 km (87 miles) of rock and seawater before reaching ARCA.
🔹 Still in Early Stages
KM3NeT is still under construction, and its capabilities will expand significantly in the coming years. The study of neutrinos remains a young field, but this discovery represents a major step in unlocking the secrets of the universe.
“Neutrinos have zero charge, zero size, almost zero mass, and almost zero interaction. They are the closest thing to nothing one can imagine—but they are key to fully understanding the universe,” Coyle said.
As deep-space observatories continue to improve, more ultra-high energy neutrinos could soon be detected, shedding light on the most powerful and mysterious events in the cosmos.
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