|
|
| High-energy neutrino astrophysics research has progressed significantly since the early 1990s when the first string of prototype detectors was deployed in South Pole ice. AMANDA-II, consisting of 677 detectors, was completed in 2000 and has placed meaningful limits on fluxes of astrophysical neutrinos. These same limits are one indication that a km^3 scale instrument is required to detect astrophysical neutrinos, and toward this goal, IceCube is being constructed. In this talk we will review the results and construction status of these experiments. We will also discuss the prospects and implications for the detection of UHE tau neutrinos, produced by electron and muon neutrinos as they mix during their progress from astrophysical sources. The expected rate of GZK neutrino initiated events is about two per year in the completed 80 string detector. Of these, regenerated tau neutrinos are favored near the horizon. |