The IceCube neutrino observatory: latest results on the search for point sources and status of IceCube construction

The AMANDA neutrino telescope, prototype instrument of the IceCube neutrino observatory at South Pole, has collected data since 2000 in its final configuration. A period of 1001 days of livetime between 2000 and 2004 has been analysed in order to find evidence of a neutrino signal coming from point-like sources such as microquasars, active galactic nuclei, supernovae remnants or gamma ray bursts. A sensitivity to fluxes of ν_μ + ν_μ + ν_τ + ν_τ of dΦ/dE =1.0 . 10⁻¹⁰ (E/TeV)⁻² . TeV⁻¹ cm⁻² s⁻¹ was reached in the energy range between 1.6 TeV and 1.6 PeV. No significant excess over the background has been found so far. Flux upper limits infered from this study can constrain certain neutrino emission models of X-ray binaries. IceCube will have a substantially higher sensitivity. Currently at 10% of its final extension, it will comprise 4800 optical sensors deployed along 80 strings by early 2011, instrumenting one cubic kilometre volume of ice and 1 km² at the surface.