Seeing the High Energy Universe

Abstract

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Francis HALZEN “for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin”. This audacious experiment at the South Pole was the first to detect cosmic neutrinos at ~TeV-PeV energies, and also identify the first candidate source: a flaring blazar 5.7 billion light-years away. This was a breakthrough in real-time multi-messenger astronomy and poses challenges to astrophysical models of such active galactic nuclei.

Intriguingly no neutrinos have been detected from gamma-ray bursts, nor were any seen from the binary neutron star merger detected in gravitational waves. Resolving the high energy neutrino sky and furthering our understanding of plasma astrophysics in such extreme environments will require IceCube-Gen2 and other experiments being constructed around the world to look through this new window on the Universe. Such facilities also have immense potential to probe new phenomena beyond the Standard Model of particle physics.


About the Speaker

Prof. Subir SARKAR works at the interface of astrophysics & cosmology with fundamental physics — including cosmic rays, dark matter, inflation & neutrino physics. He is a member of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory & Cherenkov Telescope Array collaborations – as well as participating in the Rubin / LSST Dark Energy Science Collaboration and laboratory laser plasma experiments.

He obtained his PhD at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bombay in 1982. Since 1990, he has been at the Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, Oxford where he headed the Particle Theory Group and is now Professor Emeritus. He was also Niels Bohr Professor (2013-18) at NBI, Copenhagen.


About the Center for Fundamental Physics

For more information, please refer to https://iascfp.hkust.edu.hk/.


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