Particle Astrophysics with High and Ultrahigh Energy Neutrinos

Abstract

We summarize recent results of the observations of high (1 TeV-100 PeV) and ultrahigh ($\ge 100$ PeV) energy neutrinos, including the detection of a diffuse cosmic high-energy neutrino background, the identification of the first neutrino source candidates, and the observation of high-energy neutrinos from the Galactic plane. These findings open a new window to the universe by enabling the use of neutrinos to probe the cosmos that are otherwise inaccessible via photons. Although the origins of most detected neutrinos remain uncertain, we highlight several distinctive features of their sources that have emerged from current observations.

Comments: 15 pages, 4 figures. Review chapter for Encyclopedia of Particle Physics, Editor-in-Chief Christian S. Fischer, Section Editor Baha Balantekin