Speaker
Alexander Burgman
(Uppsala University)
Description
Magnetic monopoles are allowed in most extensions of the standard model. They
are allowed in a wide range of masses, of which a large part lies outside of the
reach of modern colliders. Therefore, in order to investigate the high mass range of
magnetic monopoles we must search for monopoles produced in higher energy
environments, such as the early Universe.
According to Dirac’s quantization condition, a magnetic monopole would have a
large effective charge compared to the elementary electric charge. This high
effective charge would make magnetic monopoles into very bright Cherenkov
radiation producers when traversing a dielectric medium, which in turn gives them
a clear signature to distinguish from other events.
In this talk I will present an ongoing search for a flux of magnetic monopoles using
the IceCube neutrino observatory. The search is for magnetic monopoles with
speeds above the Cherenkov threshold in ice (∼ 76 % of c), and below 99.5 % of c.
I will present the current analysis strategy, the progress made so far, and an
outlook on the upcoming work.
Primary author
Alexander Burgman
(Uppsala University)
