![]() Sara Buson has always considered it a major challenge. A step forward in a controversial debateĭespite the vast amount of data that astrophysicists have collected, the association of high-energy neutrinos with the astrophysical sources that originate them has remained an unsolved problem for years. This is precisely what makes these neutrinos unique messengers paving the way to pinpoint cosmic ray sources. “Astrophysical neutrinos are produced exclusively in processes involving cosmic ray acceleration,” explains astrophysics Professor Sara Buson from Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany. They race through the Universe and can travel right through galaxies, planets, and the human body almost without a trace. They have almost no mass and barely interact with matter. These neutral particles are very difficult to detect. Where do they originate, what shoots them through the Universe with such tremendous force? These questions have remained among the greatest challenges of astrophysics for over a century.Ĭosmic rays’ birthplaces produce neutrinos. The incredibly energetic particles come from deep outer space and have traveled billions of light years. For reference, that is a million times more than the energy achieved in the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, CERN’s Large Hadron Collider near Geneva. These consist of electrically charged particles of extremely high energies - up to 10 20 electron volts. Our planet’s atmosphere is continuously bombarded by cosmic rays. These results were published on July 14 in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters. An international research team, led by the University of Würzburg and the University of Geneva (UNIGE), is shedding light on one aspect of this enigma: neutrinos are thought to be born in blazars, galactic nuclei fed by supermassive black holes. ![]() Although it is known that these elementary particles come from the depths of our Universe, their precise origin is still a mystery. Highly energetic and difficult to detect, neutrinos travel billions of light years before reaching Earth. Credit: © Benjamin Amendįor the first time, researchers reveal the origin of neutrinos, elementary particles that reach our planet from the depths of the Universe. Beginning a Journey Across the Universe: The Discovery of Extragalactic Neutrino Factories. ![]()
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