Deep-sea diving for Neutrinos

14 August 2002

An artistic impression shows the view down towards the sea-bed along the strings of phototubes in the ANTARES experiment - Astronomy with a Neutrino Telescope and Abyss environmental RESearch. The principle aim of the experiment is neutrino astronomy, which offers a new view of the Universe by detecting the elusive particles known as neutrinos. ANTARES will use water in the deep Mediterranean off the south coast of France to detect the particles called muons, which are produced when neutrinos interact in the Earth below the detector. The muons will produce Cherenkov radiation as they pass through the water, and this will be detected by  an array of approximately 1000 photomultiplier tubes in a number of vertical strings, spread over an area of about 0.1 km2, with each string about 0.3 km long.

Credit: ANTARES - F.Montanet CPPM/IN2P3/CNRS-Univ.Mediterranee