0000000000350039

AUTHOR

M. Ageron

Deep sea tests of a prototype of the KM3NeT digital optical module

SIRE(opens in a new window)|View at Publisher| Export | Download | Add to List | More... European Physical Journal C Volume 74, Issue 9, 1 September 2014, 8p Deep sea tests of a prototype of the KM3NeT digital optical module: KM3NeT Collaboration (Article) Adrián-Martínez, S.a, Ageron, M.b, Aharonian, F.c, Aiello, S.d, Albert, A.e, Ameli, F.f, Anassontzis, E.G.g, Anghinolfi, M.h, Anton, G.i, Anvar, S.j, Ardid, M.a, de Asmundis, R.k, Balasi, K.l, Band, H.m, Barbarino, G.kn, Barbarito, E.o, Barbato, F.kn, Baret, B.p, Baron, S.p, Belias, A.lq, Berbee, E.m, van den Berg, A.M.r, Berkien, A.m, Bertin, V.b, Beurthey, S.b, van Beveren, V.m, Beverini, N.st, Biagi, S.uv, Bianucci, S.t, Billault, M.b,…

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The positioning system of the ANTARES Neutrino Telescope

The ANTARES neutrino telescope, located 40km off the coast of Toulon in the Mediterranean Sea at a mooring depth of about 2475m, consists of twelve detection lines equipped typically with 25 storeys. Every storey carries three optical modules that detect Cherenkov light induced by charged secondary particles (typically muons) coming from neutrino interactions. As these lines are flexible structures fixed to the sea bed and held taut by a buoy, sea currents cause the lines to move and the storeys to rotate. The knowledge of the position of the optical modules with a precision better than 10cm is essential for a good reconstruction of particle tracks. In this paper the ANTARES positioning sys…

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The ANTARES Optical Beacon System

ANTARES is a neutrino telescope being deployed in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of a three dimensional array of photomultiplier tubes that can detect the Cherenkov light induced by charged particles produced in the interactions of neutrinos with the surrounding medium. High angular resolution can be achieved, in particular when a muon is produced, provided that the Cherenkov photons are detected with sufficient timing precision. Considerations of the intrinsic time uncertainties stemming from the transit time spread in the photomultiplier tubes and the mechanism of transmission of light in sea water lead to the conclusion that a relative time accuracy of the order of 0.5 ns is desirabl…

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The ANTARES telescope neutrino alert system

The ANTARES telescope has the capability to detect neutrinos produced in astrophysical transient sources. Potential sources include gamma-ray bursts, core collapse supernovae, and flaring active galactic nuclei. To enhance the sensitivity of ANTARES to such sources, a new detection method based on coincident observations of neutrinos and optical signals has been developed. A fast online muon track reconstruction is used to trigger a network of small automatic optical telescopes. Such alerts are generated for special events, such as two or more neutrinos, coincident in time and direction, or single neutrinos of very high energy.

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Deep sea tests of a prototype of the KM3NeT digital optical module: KM3NeT Collaboration

The first prototype of a photo-detection unit of the future KM3NeT neutrino telescope has been deployed in the deep waters of the Mediterranean Sea. This digital optical module has a novel design with a very large photocathode area segmented by the use of 31 three inch photomultiplier tubes. It has been integrated in the ANTARES detector for in-situ testing and validation. This paper reports on the first months of data taking and rate measurements. The analysis results highlight the capabilities of the new module design in terms of background suppression and signal recognition. The directionality of the optical module enables the recognition of multiple Cherenkov photons from the same $^{40…

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ANTARES: The first undersea neutrino telescope

The ANTARES Neutrino Telescope was completed in May 2008 and is the first operational Neutrino Telescope in the Mediterranean Sea. The main purpose of the detector is to perform neutrino astronomy and the apparatus also offers facilities for marine and Earth sciences. This paper describes the design, the construction and the installation of the telescope in the deep sea, offshore from Toulon in France. An illustration of the detector performance is given. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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Performance of the First ANTARES Detector Line

In this paper we report on the data recorded with the first Antares detector line. The line was deployed on the 14th of February 2006 and was connected to the readout two weeks later. Environmental data for one and a half years of running are shown. Measurements of atmospheric muons from data taken from selected runs during the first six months of operation are presented. Performance figures in terms of time residuals and angular resolution are given. Finally the angular distribution of atmospheric muons is presented and from this the depth profile of the muon intensity is derived.

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