New era for astronomic observation...

 

IceCube has made its first observations, with 28 neutrinos of known direction and energy.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22540352
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IceCube
two of the first papers are on arXiv:

http://arxiv.org/abs/0905.2253
http://arxiv.org/abs/0902.2460

Very interesting!

 

"The described detection strategy, along with its South Pole position, could allow the detector to provide the first robust experimental evidence of extra dimensions predicted in string theory. Many extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics, including string theory, propose a sterile neutrino; in string theory this is made from a closed string. These could leak into extra dimensions before returning, making them appear to travel faster than the speed of light. An experiment to test this may be possible in the near future.^[16] Furthermore, if high energy neutrinos create microscopic black holes (as predicted by some aspects of string theory) it would create a shower of particles; resulting in an increase of "down" neutrinos while reducing "up" neutrinos.^[17] There is no group within the IceCube collaboration working on tachyons, travel through extra dimensions, or observations of microscopic black holes."

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IceCube