In a world first, scientists detect neutrino emission from within Milky Way

Detecting a high-energy neutrino emission from the Milky Way

To date, all observations of high-energy neutrinos have shown that they originate outside our galaxy. However, scientists believe that gamma rays and neutrinos are produced via the same astrophysical processes.

As astronomers have made observations of gamma rays originating within the Galactic plane of the Milky Way, this suggested that neutrino emissions likely also come from within our galaxy.

Now, scientists using the IceCube Neutrino Observatory have found the first direct evidence that the Milky Way is a source of high-energy neutrinos. Previous studies had found inconclusive evidence for the existence of this signal.

In a new paper, the researchers behind the new discovery describe how they used a machine learning algorithm to analyze 10 years' worth of data from the IceCube Neutrino Observatory.

This allowed them to find the "first statistically robust evidence for neutrinos emission from the inner parts of the Milky Way," the press statement explained.

They found that there were more neutrinos within the observations than could be accounted for by extragalactic "ghost particles". According to the researchers, this excess of neutrinos from the Galactic plane provides evidence that the Milky Way is a source of high-energy neutrinos.

A breakthrough for neutrino astronomy

Neutrinos are notoriously difficult to detect. In order to detect these so-called ghost particles, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory features precise instruments deep below the Earth's surface, so as to avoid any interference from cosmic rays and background radiation. Those instruments are tightly packed in ice more than 1.24 miles (2 kilometers) beneath Antarctica.

The new discovery is an important milestone for the relatively new field of neutrino astronomy. Due to the weak interactivity between neutrinos and matter, observations of neutrinos could help to shed new light on the inner workings of black holes, helping the global astronomical community better understand

could also shed new light on the inner workings of black holes, helping the scientific community better understand the cosmic giants at the center of most large galaxies.