The Race for the Highest Energy Neutrinos in the Universe – Patrick Allison
Date: Tue. April 7th, 2015, 11:30 am-12:30 pmLocation: Rockefeller 221
In 1969, Berezinsky and Zatsepin predicted a flux of ultra-high energy (greater than 1 EeV) neutrinos due to cosmic ray interactions with the cosmic microwave background. These ‘cosmogenic’ BZ neutrinos are virtually “guaranteed” – barring extreme changes in either fundamental physics or our understanding of the source of cosmic rays, these neutrinos must exist. Detecting these neutrinos is extremely challenging, due to their incredibly low flux – however, recent experiments are approaching the sensitivity needed to finally make a detection. Here, I will talk about several of these existing and upcoming experiments, including the ANITA and EVA balloon-borne detectors, and the ARA experiment, all of which use the Askaryan effect to detect high-energy electromagnetic cascades in Antarctica.