In February 2023, scientists detected a single neutrino with an unprecedented amount of energy – around 220 petaelectronvolts. This is roughly 16,000 times the energy of the most powerful accelerator in the world, CERN’s Large Hadron Collider.
The detector, KM3NeT, consists of light sensors strung along cables anchored off Sicily’s coast. Neutrinos rarely interact with matter, but when they do, it can create a faint blue glow that triggers the sensors. On February 13th, a single event lit up over a third of the active sensors, revealing a massive neutrino with an extraordinary amount of energy.
The estimated energy is staggering – equivalent to 16,000 times the energy produced by CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. While this figure is uncertain, it confirms that neutrinos can reach such high energies naturally. However, there’s an awkward part: KM3NeT is a new detector and not yet complete. This raises questions about whether the event was just luck or a hint at something more unusual.
The source of the neutrino remains unknown. Scientists have proposed two possibilities: it could come from an extreme astrophysical accelerator, such as a supermassive black hole, or from the collision of an ultra-high-energy cosmic ray with the leftover light of the Big Bang. While these possibilities are intriguing, neither has been confirmed yet.
What’s next? As more sensors are added to KM3NeT, its reach will grow, and scientists hope to catch another neutrino like this one. If so, it could mark a new way of observing the high-energy universe.
Source: https://spacedaily.com/t-in-february-2023-a-detector-3-5-kilometres-beneath-the-mediterranean-caught-the-aftermath-of-the-most-energetic-neutrino-ever-seen-a-220-petaelectronvolt-ghost-particle-roughly-16000-time