Researchers are scratching their heads over strange radio pulses that appear to challenge established principles of particle physics.
Deep within Antarctica’s vast frozen expanse, something unexpected seems to be generating these puzzling signals at least, that’s what data from a mobile cosmic ray detector suggests.
The project, called the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA), uses an array of specialized instruments to detect radio waves created when cosmic rays collide with Earth’s atmosphere.
But in an unusual discovery, these new signals don’t behave as anticipated. Instead of bouncing off the ice sheet’s surface, the pulses seem to be originating from within or beneath it a scenario that shouldn’t be possible if our current physics models are correct.
“The radio emissions we recorded were coming in at very steep angles, around 30 degrees below the ice surface,” explained Stephanie Wissel, an associate professor in physics, astronomy, and astrophysics.
To reach the detector from that direction, the signals would have to pass through thousands of miles of solid rock a journey that would normally absorb or scatter them completely.
So how could these waves make it through such an obstacle and still be detected?
“It’s a fascinating puzzle because we still don’t have a solid explanation for these anomalies,” Wissel said. “But we do know they’re unlikely to be neutrinos.”
Neutrinos elusive, nearly massless particles are usually released by powerful cosmic phenomena and are extremely challenging to spot. This difficulty has driven scientists to develop innovative methods like ANITA to observe them.
“If we’re able to detect one, it means it has traveled vast cosmic distances without being disturbed,” Wissel added. “In theory, we could even catch a neutrino that originated near the edge of the observable universe.”
Source: Phys.org
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