One Physics researcher at South Dakota Mines has a proper adventure ahead of her. Beginning December, she’ll be studying the fabric of the universe at the South Pole.
Larissa Paul is a research scientist who will be joining the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the geographic South Pole to study questions orbiting cosmic rays, neutrinos, and dark matter.
“Basically, you could do it two places, Greenland or Antarctica,” Paul said.
Neutrinos are a subatomic particle and among the most abundant, and least understood, pieces of matter in the universe, and billions of them pass through your body near light speed daily. Some of the most prominent neutrino research is happening in South Dakota at the Sanford Underground Research Facility – or SURF.
But Paul said this research can only happen with serious ice coverage.
“The IceCube detector is up to two-and-a-half kilometers deep in the ice," Paul said. "The idea is to do simultaneous measurements – our telescopes look into the sky, we have a surface detector, and then the deep detector in the ice. We have three components, and this makes for a unique measurement.”
She said the combination of research opportunities at the South Pole creates cutting-edge results.
“For now we have two telescopes installed down there in the field. One with a stand, and one that’s directly next to it," Paul said. "My job will be to bring both those telescopes in to do those modifications, we’ll ship down two telescopes, and all four will go on the same stand.”
Paul departs for the South Pole Saturday, December 7. It’s her second research trip to Antarctica, following her doctorate research during her time in Germany.