We will review the scientific case for neutrino astronomy. It has been made since the 1950's by pioneers who realized that, of all high-energy particles, only neutrinos can directly convey astrophysical information from the edge of the Universe and from deep inside its most cataclysmic high-energy regions near black holes. With the Antarctic Muon and Neutrino Detector Array (AMANDA), we have performed the first scans of the sky using neutrinos of TeV-energy and above as cosmic messengers. We will discuss the search for neutrino emission from gamma-ray bursts and active galaxies, which are known sources of high-energy gamma-rays. We searched with improved sensitivity for magnetic monopoles, and for a cold dark matter signal from the center of the Earth. Most importantly, by observing neutrinos produced by cosmic rays in the Earth's atmosphere we present a proof of concept for an expandable technology with which to build the ultimate kilometer-scale neutrino observatory, IceCube.

ANL Physics Division Colloquium Schedule