Antares completed: First selected results

TL;DR

The Antares collaboration reports the completion of the first deep sea neutrino telescope in the Northern Hemisphere, demonstrating a new large-scale detector for neutrino astronomy using Cerenkov light detection.

Contribution

This paper presents the construction and initial results of the first deep sea neutrino telescope in the Northern Hemisphere, a novel large-scale detector for neutrino observation.

Findings

Successful deployment of 900 photomultipliers in the Mediterranean Sea

First data demonstrating neutrino detection capability

Establishment of a new platform for neutrino astronomy

Abstract

In May 2008, the Antares collaboration has completed the construction of the first deep sea neutrino telescope in the Northern hemisphere. Antares is a 3D array of 900 photomultipliers held in the sea by twelve mooring lines anchored at a depth of 2500 m in the Mediterranean Sea 40 km off the southern French coast. The detection principle is based on the observation of Cerenkov light induced by charged particles produced in neutrino interactions in the matter surrounding the detector.