‘IceCube’ is not only the name of the experiment, but also describes its appearance. More than 5,000 extremely sensitive light sensors are embedded in a volume of 1 km³ of transparent ice at the South Pole. This unique arrangement serves as an observatory for detecting neutrinos, the most difficult elementary particles to detect. In order to measure neutrinos, they must interact with matter, thereby creating charged particles that produce light within the ice.

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory has been searching for high-energy neutrinos from space since 2010. In recent years, it has already provided important insights into the nature of these particles and the sources of high-energy neutrinos in the universe. For example, this has provided an initial insight into the interior of an active galaxy. Today, the researchers are looking, amongst other things, for extremely rare signals and possible relics from the early universe.

For Prof. Dr Klaus Helbing, head of the IceCube group in Wuppertal, Francis Halzen’s award is also a special moment on a personal level: he has known him for around 25 years. Both received funding from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in connection with their work on the neutrino experiment. “With his scientific vision, Francis Halzen has played a key role in making IceCube a reality. I am delighted for him – and that the Nobel Prize also recognises the importance of this international collaboration,” says Prof. Helbing.

The Wuppertal group has been involved in neutrino research at the South Pole since the late 1990s. Helbing worked on the project as a postdoctoral researcher in Berkeley from 2002 onwards and continued his research in Wuppertal following his appointment to the University of Wuppertal in 2006.

IceCube is being further expanded

Wuppertal is also involved in the future of IceCube: just a few months ago, a major upgrade to the detector was successfully installed at the South Pole. The Wuppertal research group was involved, amongst other things, in the development and construction of mounting structures for novel optical sensors. The additional instruments increase the detector’s sensitivity and open up new possibilities in the search for previously unknown particles.

The researchers are already looking beyond this: with IceCube-Gen2, the instrumented volume of the detector is set to increase approximately eightfold. The University of Wuppertal is also collaborating on this next generation of the neutrino observatory. The aim is to gain an even deeper insight into the origin and evolution of the universe.