Embedded deep in the ice cap at the South Pole, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory (ICNO) is the world's largest and most sensitive high energy neutrino telescope. It is a 1 billion-ton detector using the Antarctic ice as a detection medium for high energy atmospheric and astrophysical neutrinos. Most of the neutrinos observed by IceCube exhibit energies in the range expected for atmospheric neutrinos originating from decays of particles produced in extensive air showers by cosmic rays coming from nearby sectors of the Milky Way Galaxy. These may be used to measure the fundamental properties of neutrinos. At higher energies, astrophysical neutrinos are key probes of the high-energy universe. Because of their unique properties, neutrinos escape even dense regions, are not deflected by galactic or extra-galactic magnetic fields and traverse the photon-filled universe unhindered. Thus, neutrinos provide direct information about the dynamics and interiors of the powerful cosmic objects that may be the origins of high energy cosmic rays: supernovae, black holes, pulsars, active galactic nuclei and other extreme extragalactic phenomena. This award will provide funding for an astroparticle neutrino program at Drexel University. The goal is to resolve neutrino sources by developing new techniques and analyses to be applied to a new analysis in the southern sky, a hemisphere that has traditionally been a challenge for IceCube because of backgrounds created in the atmosphere reaching the detector without the Earth to act as a shield (as is the case for the northern sky studies).
The IceCube experiment is well suited for making a broader impact given its geographical location and the diverse yet accessible science topics it covers. The program outlined here will continue to provide a wide range of opportunities for undergraduate research. The PI will continue her mentoring efforts through the physics department, and external groups such as the Philadelphia chapter of the Association for Women In Science. She has a long record of commitment to public outreach that will be applied to the many opportunities that Drexel University and the greater Philadelphia region offer.
The group is planning an innovative approach to perform the most sensitive search of Galactic sources to date. It will also perform two new analyses: one focused on measuring the large scale cosmic ray anisotropy in the northern sky using atmospheric neutrinos, and another on testing a high-energy neutrino emission model from the cores of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs). The PI's longer term interest is to develop neutrino astronomy so that neutrinos can become an integral part of multi-messenger astronomy.
