Extremely energetic cosmic neutrinos and their impact on particle physics and cosmology.pdf

a r X i v : h e p - p h / 0 4 0 9 1 5 1 v 1 1 4 S e p 2 0 0 4 DESY 04-180 Extremely energetic cosmic neutrinos and their impact on particle physics and cosmology A. Ringwalda? aDeutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestra?e 85, D–22607 Hamburg, Germany Existing and planned neutrino detectors, sensitive in the energy regime from 1017 eV to 1023 eV, offer oppor- tunities for particle physics and cosmology. In this contribution, we discuss particularly the possibilities to infer information about physics beyond the Standard Model at center-of-mass energies beyond the reach of the Large Hadron Collider, as well as to detect big bang relic neutrinos via absorption dips in the observed neutrino spectra. 1. INTRODUCTION Existing observatories for extremely high energy cosmic neutrinos (EHECν), such as RICE [1], GLUE [2], and FORTE [3], have re- cently put sensible upper limits on the neu- trino flux in the energy region from 1017 eV to 1026 eV (cf. Fig. 1). Furthermore, recent pro- posals for progressively larger EHECν detectors, such as the Pierre Auger Observatory [8], Ice- Cube [9], ANITA [10], EUSO [11], SalSA [12], and OWL [13], together with conservative neu- trino flux predictions, offer credible hope that the collection of an appreciable event sample above 1017 eV may be realized within this decade [14] (cf. Fig. 1). This will provide an opportu- nity for particle physics beyond the reach of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). There is even a re- mote possibility of a sizeable event sample above 1021 eV. If the corresponding more speculative neutrino fluxes are realized in nature, EHECν open a window to cosmology: it may be possible to detect the cosmic neutrino background (CνB) via absorption features in neutrino spectra. In this contribution, we will have a closer look at these exciting possibilities. ?Invited talk at Cosmic Ray International Seminar 2004, Catania, Italy. 2. EHECν AND PHYSICS BEYOND THE STANDARD MODEL Cosmic neutrinos with energies Eν above