The most powerful neutrino in history detected in the Mediterranean Sea
Kyiv • UNN
The KM3NeT/ARCA underwater telescope has detected a neutrino with unprecedented energy off the coast of Sicily. The discovery was made at a depth of 3,500 meters; the origin of the particle remains a mystery to scientists.
On Thursday, Italy reported an outstanding scientific breakthrough: the KM3NeT/ARCA underwater telescope detected the most energetic neutrino ever detected on Earth at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.
Transmits to UNN with reference to Il Messaggero and ANSA.
Details
The record-breaking neutrino, the most energetic ever observed, was detected by an underwater telescope off the coast of Italy, in Sicily.
The extraordinary discovery of this neutrino, the most energetic ever observed, raises many questions, starting with the question of the mechanism that generated it: we cannot rule out the possibility that we are dealing with phenomena that are still unknown
The KM3NeT/Arca neutrino telescope, a giant infrastructure installed at a depth of about 3500 meters off the coast of Portopalo di Capo Passero, Sicily, helped to record this so far unique event.
Without a doubt, we found something we didn't expect. It is definitely something that cannot be predicted. We are almost certain that the neutrino did not come from our galaxy, but we do not know how far away it came from,” explain experts, including Luigi Antonio Fusco of the University of Salerno, Damien Dornick of the CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research), and others.
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Neutrinos are elusive particles. They were discovered in 1956 by Frederick Rains and Clyde Cowen and are part of the Standard Model of particle physics. Neutrinos are so small and have no electric charge that they pass through planets, stars, and even our bodies imperceptibly. Every second, billions of neutrinos pass through us without leaving a trace.
Neutrinos have several unique characteristics:
- The absence of an electric charge: which makes them insensitive to electromagnetic fields;
- Extremely low mass: close to zero but not equal to zero;
- Very weak interaction with the substance, which makes their detection extremely difficult.
Neutrinos are produced in many astrophysical and terrestrial contexts, including:
- During nuclear reactions on the Sun;
- During the merger of supernovae and neutron stars;
- Near supermassive black holes in distant galaxies;
- In nuclear reactors and during natural radioactive decay on Earth.
AddendumAddendum
On February 3, 2023, the particle was detected by blue light, but the researchers preferred to conduct further verification through data analysis, which lasted two years: a necessary time given such an extraordinary event. The record-breaking neutrino was detected by the Arca (Astroparticle Research with Cosmics in the Abyss) detector on the KM3NeT telescope.