Very-High-Energy Neutrinos: Detection and Estimation in the Mediterranean Sea

The theme of this paper is part of the Astronomy with a Neutrino Telescope and Abyss RESearch (ANTARES) international project, the object of which is to build a submarine neutrino telescope located near Toulon, France. In deep water, a neutrino can interact with a nucleus in a water molecule. The collision generates a luminous flash and an acoustic wave. The goal of this paper is to propose a system able to detect and estimate the initial direction of the particle. We first focus on the detector by comparing some detection methods and choose the one which best corresponds to our problem. Then, position and direction of the neutrino are estimated with a Gauss-Newton derived algorithm. This estimator is based on a wavefront propagation model and on the time detection information given by the telescope hydrophones. Performance of the system is then described. An antenna structure is then proposed and a global simulation finalizes this paper. The use of real underwater sea noise and the results of the simulation validate the work.