The Antares Neutrino Telescope: Current Status and First Results

Abstract

ANTARES is a neutrino telescope located in the Mediterranean Sea with the aim of detecting high energy neutrinos of extra-terrestrial origin. It is the largest one in the Northern hemisphere and consists of a 3D array of 885 photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) arranged in 12 detection lines, able to detect the Cherenkov light induced by upgoing relativistic muons produced in the interaction of neutrinos with the surrounding water and seabed. The scientific scope of neutrino telescopes is wide, being their most relevant goals the search for neutrino astrophysical sources and the indirect detection of dark matter particles (like neutralinos) coming from the Sun. A good accuracy in the reconstruction of muon tracks is mandatory, so several calibration systems have been developed which enable a timing resolution of ∼ 1 ns and a positioning accuracy better than 20 cm. The expected angular resolution is E ν > 10 TeV . Since the deployment of its first line in 2006, ANTARES has taken data continuously with an apparatus of increasing size. The detector was completed in 2008. Details of the design of the detector as well as the first physics results obtained from the analysis of 2007–2010 data are presented.