Greg Sullivan
Physics Department University of Maryland
Recent Results on the Observation of High EnergyAstrophysical Neutrinos from IceCube
I present the latest results on the observation of high energy astrophysical neutrinos using the IceCube neutrino telescope deployed at the Antarctic South Pole Station. The IceCube detector instruments one cubic kilometer of deep ice and was finished with construction in December 2010, with operation of the completed detector starting in May 2011. Since that time IceCube has made the world's first observation of a diffuse flux of high energy neutrinos of non-terrestrial origin. This first evidence was published in the Journal Science in Fall 2013. Since that ground breaking initial result we have added data in both new analysis channels and the original analysis that further support our original evidence. IceCube has also made significant scientific contributions to the astrophysical theory of neutrino production in gamma-ray bursts (GRB). While GRB were a favored candidate for the yet unknown source of the highest energy cosmic rays, in 2012 IceCube published a result in the journal Nature that essentially ruled ruled out gamma-ray bursts as the sole source of these cosmic rays. I also present the current status of the evolving theory and data in the search for high energy neutrino emission from GRB. Finally, I will describe current thinking and potential next stage experimental programs to further our capability for performing high energy neutrino astrophysics and astronomy now that we have observed a non-zero flux astrophysical flux of neutrinos.