Astrophysical point source search with the ANTARES neutrino telescope

TL;DR

The paper discusses the ANTARES neutrino telescope's design, methods for detecting extraterrestrial high-energy neutrinos, and presents results and sensitivity analysis from data collected since 2007.

Contribution

It introduces multiple search methods for neutrino point sources and evaluates the telescope's sensitivity using data since 2007.

Findings

Detection methods for neutrino point sources are effective.

The telescope's sensitivity to extraterrestrial neutrinos is quantified.

Results demonstrate the potential for identifying astrophysical neutrino sources.

Abstract

The ANTARES neutrino telescope is installed at a depth of 2.5 km of the Mediterranean Sea and consists of a three-dimensional array of 885 photomultipliers arranged on twelve detector lines. The prime objective is to detect high-energy neutrinos from extraterrestrial origin. Relativistic muons emerging from charged-current muon neutrino interactions in the detector surroundings produce a cone of Cerenkov light which allows the reconstruction of the original neutrino direction. The collaboration has implemented different methods to search for neutrino point sources in the data collected since 2007. Results obtained with these methods as well as the sensitivity of the telescope are presented.