The Acoustic Detection System AMADEUS as Part of the ANTARES Neutrino Telescope

Abstract

Acoustic particle detection is a promising approach for the investigation of ultra-high energy neutrinos. This method utilises the effect that a detectable pressure pulse is generated by the particle shower produced in a neutrino interaction in water at very high energies. The AMADEUS (ANTARES modules for acoustic detection under the sea) system is designed to perform tests of detection techniques and acoustic background studies in the deep sea. The ANTARES neutrino telescope is a water Cherenkov detector completed in May 2008. It is located in the Mediterranean Sea at a water depth of roughly 2500 m. In addition, the detector provides the infrastructure for investigations of the deep sea environment. In this context, acoustic sensors were integrated into the existing infrastructure of the experiment. The AMADEUS setup consists of six clusters comprising six acoustic sensors each. The first three clusters were installed in December 2007 and have been taking data since that time. With the completion of ANTARES the last three clusters were installed. This setup allows position reconstruction of acoustic point sources and to has a dynamic range of about 3 mPa to 10 Pa (RMS) for the frequency range of interest from about 1 kHz to 100 kHz. Preliminary results of the first three clusters will be presented, which are demonstrating the performance of the system.