Particle Physics with IceCube Atmospherics

In addition to producing some stunning auroras, the atmosphere also produces a large number of neutrinos when struck by cosmic rays. These neutrinos are at much higher energy than what can be produced on earth, and so provide a unique opportunity to probe the edges of the standard model. Currently, I lead the MEOWS group within IceCube, which is a group dedicated to an extremely pure sample of upgoing neutrinos. We choose neutrinos transiting the earth (Norther sky) because we know that no cosmic muons can interfere with our background.

Using the spectrum of these upgoing events, we can test a wide variety of new physics theories, though it was initially developed to look for sterile neutrinos. Sterile neutrinos interact with matter in an effect somewhat analogous to the MSW effect, which causes them to change flavor when passing through sufficient matter. The same angle/energy distribution can be used to search for many other BSM results including sterile neutrino decay, Lorentz violation, and decoherence from quantum gravity. Below are some of the most recent papers from this group, but please check here for more general information about IceCube.

• Most recent Sterile Neutrino Analysis (3+1)
• Sterile Neutrino Decay
• Thesis by Alejandro Diaz on Tau Mixing with Sterile Neutrinos
• Upcoming Lorentz Violation search – Previous is here
• Searching for Decoherence From Quantum Gravity