Status of the KM3NeT project

TL;DR

KM3NeT is a large-scale deep-sea infrastructure in the Mediterranean designed to detect neutrinos and support multidisciplinary ocean research, with ongoing construction and technological development to enhance astrophysical and oceanographic studies.

Contribution

This paper details the current status, technological solutions, and expected performance of the KM3NeT neutrino telescope and multidisciplinary observatory.

Findings

Construction of the detector modules has begun.

Technological solutions for the detector are outlined.

Expected performance metrics are discussed.

Abstract

KM3NeT is a deep-sea research infrastructure being constructed in the Mediterranean Sea. It will be installed at three sites: KM3NeT-Fr, offshore Toulon, France, KM3NeT-It, offshore Portopalo di Capo Passero, Sicily (Italy) and KM3NeT-Gr, offshore Pylos, Peloponnese, Greece. It will host the next generation Cherenkov neutrino telescope and nodes for a deep sea multidisciplinary observatory, providing oceanographers, marine biologists, and geophysicists with real time measurements. The neutrino telescope will search for Galactic and extra-Galactic sources of neutrinos, complementing IceCube in its field of view. The detector will have a modular structure and consists of six building blocks, each including about one hundred Detection Units (DUs). Each DU will be equipped with 18 multi-PMT digital optical modules. The first phase of construction has started and shore and deep-sea infrastructures hosting the future KM3NeT detector are being prepared in France near Toulon and in Italy, near Capo Passero in Sicily. The technological solutions for KM3NeT and the expected performance of the detector are presented and discussed.