At the University of Canterbury we have an active group working on high-energy neutrino research using the IceCube neutrino telescope.

IceCube is the largest neutrino detector in the world. It consists of over 5000 optical sensors installed in a cubic kilometre of ice below the South Pole and detects the optical light emitted by the charged particles produced when neutrinos interact in the ice.

Neutrinos offer a unique way to observe the Universe - unlike photons or charged particles, neutrinos can emerge from deep inside their sources and travel across the universe without interference because they are not absorbed by opaque matter, nor is their trajectory bent by magnetic fields.

The physics accessible by neutrino telescopes includes the detection of neutrinos from astrophysical objects such as the sources of the cosmic rays, the search for dark matter, and fundamental physics involving neutrino oscillations and particle interactions at ultra-high energies.