You are here: Home / Infrastructures / Res. Infrastructure
Astronomy with a Neutrino Telescope and Abyss environmental RESearch (ANTARES)
Identification
Hosting Legal Entity
Center for Particle Physics of Marseilles
Location
163, avenue de Luminy, Centre de Physique des Particules de Marseille / AIX-MARSEILLE UNIVERSITY, Marseille, PO: 13288 (France)
Structure
Type Of RI
Single-sited
Coordinating Country
France
Status
Status
Current Status:
Operational since 2008
Scientific Description
ANTARES is a deep sea neutrino telescope located at a depth of 2475m in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Toulon. It is also a cabled deep sea observatory for earth and sea sciences.The observation of high energy neutrinos will open a new window on the universe. The primary aim of the experiment is to use neutrinos as a tool to study particle acceleration mechanisms in energetic astrophysical objects such as active galactic nuclei and gamma-ray bursts, which may also shed light on the origin of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. At somewhat lower energies, non-baryonic dark matter (WIMPs) may be detected through the neutrinos produced when gravitationally captured WIMPs annihilate in the cores of the Earth and the Sun, and neutrino oscillations can be measured by studying distortions in the energy spectrum of upward-going atmospheric neutrinos.The ANTARES collaboration is composed of around 150 engineers, technicians and physicists from numerous institutes.

RI Keywords
Deep Sea, Telescopes, Cosmic rays, Neutrinos
Classifications
RI Category
Telescopes
Earth, Ocean, Marine, Freshwater, and Atmosphere Data Centres
Scientific Domain
Physics, Astronomy, Astrophysics and Mathematics
Earth and Environmental Sciences
ESFRI Domain
Environment
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Equipment
Large Water Cherenkov detector

Large water area neutrino detector, optimised for the detection of muons from high-energy astrophysical neutrinos. It is located at the coordinates 42°48'N, 6°10'E (40 km off the coast of Toulon (Fr). ANTARES is composed of 12 lines of about 350m each, covering a surface area of 0.1 km2

Sea & Earth Sciences infrastructure

Antares is a real time infrastructure connected to shore opening new opportunities for environmental sciences. Recently an extension to this existing infrastructure was added to the sea bed network in the form of a secondary junction box and an Instrumented Interface Module (MII). In November 2010, during the so-called TEXREX operation,IFREMER deployed a secondary junction box (BJS) linked to the main ANTARES junction box. On the BJS, providing power and data transmission, 3 instrumented modules have been connected, providing real time data collection • The first module is a Deep Sea Net node, technology that will provide communication between distant site linked into an observation network (seismology, tsunami, ...). • The second module, the Instrumented Interface Module (MII) is hosting scientific instrumentation for environmental sciences. In its actual configuration, the MII is hosting a CTD sensor, an oxygen sensor, a turbidity sensor, a curentmeter (ADCP), an absolute pressure sensor ("tsunamimeter") and a very high sensitivity optical camera. The MII has been built with a wet meteable socket ready to receive an acoustic modem which will allow communication with an autonmous instrumented mooring line located nearby (less than 3NM). • The third module is a seismology modulee (broad band velocimeter (0.003-50Hz) , accelerometer, differential pressure and absolute pressure 1 Hz).(broad band velocimeter (0.003-50Hz) , accelerometer, differential pressure and absolute pressure 1 Hz).

Date of last update: 19/06/2019
Printable version