Status of the ANTARES underwater neutrino telescope

The ANTARES Collaboration is constructing a deep underwater neutrino detector for operation at −2400 m off the French Mediterranean coast near Toulon. The detector, which will begin operation in 2004, will have an aperture of ∼0.1 km2, and will contain 900 photomultiplier tubes. The photomultiplier axes will be angled 45° downward toward the seabed to observe the Cherenkov emissions of upward-going muons created by the interactions in or near the detector of high energy neutrinos traversing the Earth. These neutrinos arrive undeviated from a variety of galactic and extragalactic sources of astrophysical interest, and might be produced in the possible annihilation of dark matter neutralinos. The design and present status of the detector are summarized. Results from site evaluation and the development of supporting instrumentation are outlined.