According to Barwick, such high-energy neutrinos are routinely produced artificially by particle accelerators on earth. The common telescope cannot look past the brightness of cosmic particle accelerators like black holes and other cosmic turbulence to see the mechanisms at work inside. However, by searching for neutrinos, researchers believe they can explore the mechanisms inside these cosmic phenomena. The researchers hope the neutrino data will provide them with new insights about how black holes work. We would learn that protons are being accelerated there and therefore, they may be responsible for producing cosmic rays.
Cosmic rays are very energetic particles that rain down on the earth.
So far, the researchers have detected about 200 high-energy neutrino events. Since we see atmospheric neutrinos, we know the detector is working. According to Barwick, the detectors of the telescope actually capture the light given off by muons, which are particles produced when neutrinos interact with the nuclei of elements in the earth. Barwick said the individual sensors that make up the telescope needed to be embedded in a transparent, environment like the ice making up the ice cap of the Antarctic, in order for the light from the muons to reach the detectors. The telescope is comprised of 676 separate detectors that are buried in the ice.