Corey Reed
CPPM (France)
Abstract:
Construction of the Antares neutrino telescope, located in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of southern France, was completed on May 30th, 2008. The telescope is searching for neutrinos coming from a variety of sources; including gamma-ray bursts, active galactic nuclei, WIMP interactions and ultra-high energy cosmic rays. As the neutrinos pass through the earth, they may interact in or around the detector, producing a charged lepton. The lepton Cherenkov radiates in water, and this light is observed by Antares' array of photodectors. Due to the long scattering length of light in water, the direction of the neutrino can be determined with high precision. Since construction began in February of 2006, the experiment has been taking data. The performance of the Antares detector during this period will be discussed, and first results from the experiment will be presented.