American scholar who conceived the IceCube Neutrino Observatory wins Nobel Prize in Physics

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on the 6th that the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics will be awarded to Belgian-born American particle physicist Francis Halzen in recognition of his "key contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin."

Halson, 82, has successfully captured neutrinos known as "ghostly messengers from space" in his research, providing a new perspective for human exploration of the distant universe.

Please read on...

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences pointed out in a press release that neutrinos are ubiquitous but extremely difficult to detect; they can easily penetrate the entire earth and the human body without changing direction or losing energy, and people have no sense of it.

Scientists have long known that natural particle accelerators exist in the universe, but extremely high-energy neutrinos are very rare. Unlike other particles, neutrinos retain their original information when they reach Earth, meaning they can provide insights into the universe that are otherwise unobtainable.

Successfully captured the Space Ghost Messenger

Halson first proposed the idea of capturing neutrinos in Antarctic ice in 1988. He discovered that when a neutrino collides with an atomic nucleus on rare occasions, a flash of light is produced. The undisturbed and geologically stable Antarctic is an ideal environment for installing sensors to track these flashes.

Under his leadership, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, which covers one cubic kilometer of ice and is equipped with light sensors, was completed in 2011. Researchers subsequently discovered the first batch of high-energy neutrinos, and published research results a few years later, confirming that these neutrinos must come from distant areas outside the solar system. The search for the origin of cosmic neutrinos officially began.

Mark Pearce, Chairman of the Nobel Prize Committee in Physics, praised: "Harson led a team of international researchers and engineers to provide us with outstanding instruments. His persistence and scientific vision paved the way for a new form of astronomy."

"This is a big surprise, I obviously didn't expect it," Harsen admitted over the phone from Italy. Harsen said that this honor should be attributed to the international team partners who bravely joined in the early stages of the project. Regarding the outside world's curiosity about whether neutrinos can be used to receive messages from alien civilizations, Halson admitted that some people indeed speculate that this is an ideal way to communicate with aliens, but he will not develop in this direction. "We currently have enough practical problems to deal with."