New Expansions to the KM3NeT Deep-Sea Neutrino Telescope

As a result, the Italian ARCA section of the KM3NeT neutrino telescope now comprises 62 strings of light sensors capable of measuring the paths of incoming neutrinos. During the operations, connection units were also installed on the seafloor, along with additional transmitters for the acoustic positioning system.

Enlarge imageEach installed detector string extends 650 meters upward from an anchor on the seafloor, consisting of 18 glass spheres containing light sensors suspended from a cable with floats. Neutrinos very rarely collide with a water molecule; when they do, they release charged particles that emit light as they move through the water.

The deployment campaign was carried out using a lift vessel and a submersible from Malta and was completed last weekend. Over the past few weeks at sea, all equipment was placed and connected on the seafloor at a depth of 3.5 kilometers with great precision. It is now also clear that all newly connected units are functioning properly, KM3NeT reported today.

ARCA is the Italian component of KM3NeT, specifically designed to detect sources of cosmic neutrinos. Another part of the experiment is ORCA, located in the French sector of the Mediterranean Sea near Toulon, which studies the properties of neutrinos themselves.

Ultimately, the detector will monitor one cubic kilometer of dark seawater. KM3NeT is being gradually built as part of an international scientific collaboration in which the Netherlands and Nikhef play a leading role.

In Amsterdam, a large number of the detector spheres designed by Nikhef for the network are being assembled. In addition, the Nikhef group plays a prominent role in analyzing the observations.

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