Speaker
John Beacom
(Ohio State University)
Description
The great promise of neutrino astronomy has been known for decades, though it seemed impossibly out of reach. With neutrinos, we would reveal the insides of astrophysical objects, the high particle energies in the engines that power them, and the original timescales on which those engines evolve. In contrast, with photons, we see just the outsides of these objects, with spectra downgraded by thermalization, and time profiles smoothed by diffusion. Finally, the age in which neutrino astronomy becomes an observational science instead of a theorist's dream is here. What have we learned already? What might we learn soon? And what are the long-term prospects?
