MIT - NPP Colloquium TODAY

["Randyn A. Miller" <randyn MIT EDU>]

Title: MIT - NPP Colloquium TODAY

Nuclear and Particle Physics Colloquium 
TODAY, 4 PM
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 
Laboratory for Nuclear Science
Building 26-414, Kolker Room


Stefan Westerhoff 
University of Wisconsin – Madison


"Searching for the Origin of Cosmic Rays with IceCube”
  

The IceCube detector at the South Pole is primarily an instrument to detect neutrinos from astrophysical sources. It is, however, also sensitive to muons produced in cosmic ray-induced air showers, and has recorded several billions of cosmic rays with energies above about 10^13 eV so far. With a data set of this size, it is for the first time possible to probe the southern sky for anisotropies at the per mille level in the arrival direction distribution of cosmic rays at these energies. I will report on new results from IceCube, in particular a recently discovered anisotropy of cosmic ray arrival directions over the southern sky which resembles a similar feature previously observed by northern detectors. The origin of this anisotropy is unknown at this point, and I will discuss possible sources and implications for our understanding of cosmic ray acceleration in the Galaxy.

Refreshments to be served.