Adam Kuang

MIT Nuclear Science and Engineering

NSE graduate student Adam Kuang will present on the IceCube neutrino observatory at the South Pole. LNSP Brown Bag talks are informal presentations on topics of general interest to LNSP members and the public.

Neutrinos are one of the least understood particles in the standard model. This is largely because their interactions are dominated by weak-force interactions. However, this very same property allows them to provide clear information about cosmic events happening light years away. The IceCube South Pole Neutrino Observatory was built with one of its primary goals being the detection of neutrinos from beyond our solar system. It is a neutrino detector spanning approximately 1 km cube and extending to a depth of about 2.5 km below the surface of the ice. This talk will provide a brief introduction to neutrinos, in particular neutrino oscillations and the weak force interactions; the basic concept of neutrino detection; and an overview of the design and layout of IceCube.