Particle physics and astrophysics with high-energy cosmic neutrinos
Lecturer: Mauricio Bustamante, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen
Abstract: High-energy cosmic neutrinos offer vast potential to test both particle physics and astrophysics. Discovered by IceCube, these neutrinos boast the highest detected energies—reaching 10^{15} eV—and travel gigaparsec distances, the size of the observable Universe. These extreme baselines and energies make them unique probes of particle physics at energy scales unreachable by other means and of the conditions inside the most energetic astrophysical sources in the Universe. The preceding decades saw many proposals of studies in these directions. Today, these proposals have become observational reality. In this lecture, I will start by introducing the basic theory behind high-energy astrophysical neutrinos, their current experimental status, and their connection with other high-energy astrophysical messengers. Then I will showcase examples of interrogating neutrino physics at these extreme scales, including physics beyond the Standard Model, and the physical conditions in the presumed neutrino sources. Finally, we will preview the next-generation experiments aiming to detect neutrinos at energies a thousand times higher, opening the door to the ultimate tests of neutrino physics.
Thursday, 14 May, 12:10 at Seminario Física Nuclear or online