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ANTARES, L. I. G. O. S. and V. C.(A. - M., S. et al), Bigongiari, C., Dornic, D., Emanuele, U., Gomez-Gonzalez, J. P., Hernandez-Rey, J. J., et al. (2013). A first search for coincident gravitational waves and high energy neutrinos using LIGO, Virgo and ANTARES data from 2007. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 06(6), 008–40pp.
Abstract: We present the results of the first search for gravitational wave bursts associated with high energy neutrinos. Together, these messengers could reveal new, hidden sources that are not observed by conventional photon astronomy, particularly at high energy. Our search uses neutrinos detected by the underwater neutrino telescope ANTARES in its 5 line configuration during the period January – September 2007, which coincided with the fifth and first science runs of LIGO and Virgo, respectively. The LIGO-Virgo data were analysed for candidate gravitational-wave signals coincident in time and direction with the neutrino events. No significant coincident events were observed. We place limits on the density of joint high energy neutrino – gravitational wave emission events in the local universe, and compare them with densities of merger and core-collapse events.
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Hernandez-Rey, J. J., Ardid, M., Bou Cabo, M., Calvo, D., Diaz, A. F., Gozzini, S. R., et al. (2022). Science with Neutrino Telescopes in Spain. Universe, 8(2), 89–25pp.
Abstract: The primary scientific goal of neutrino telescopes is the detection and study of cosmic neutrino signals. However, the range of physics topics that these instruments can tackle is exceedingly wide and diverse. Neutrinos coming from outside the Earth, in association with other messengers, can contribute to clarify the question of the mechanisms that power the astrophysical accelerators which are known to exist from the observation of high-energy cosmic and gamma rays. Cosmic neutrinos can also be used to bring relevant information about the nature of dark matter, to study the intrinsic properties of neutrinos and to look for physics beyond the Standard Model. Likewise, atmospheric neutrinos can be used to study an ample variety of particle physics issues, such as neutrino oscillation phenomena, the determination of the neutrino mass ordering, non-standard neutrino interactions, neutrino decays and a diversity of other physics topics. In this article, we review a selected number of these topics, chosen on the basis of their scientific relevance and the involvement in their study of the Spanish physics community working in the KM3NeT and ANTARES neutrino telescopes.
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KM3NeT Collaboration(Adrian-Martinez, S. et al), Aguilar, J. A., Bigongiari, C., Calvo Diaz-Aldagalan, D., Emanuele, U., Gomez-Gonzalez, J. P., et al. (2013). Detection potential of the KM3NeT detector for high-energy neutrinos from the Fermi bubbles. Astropart Phys., 42, 7–14.
Abstract: A recent analysis of the Fermi Large Area Telescope data provided evidence for a high-intensity emission of high-energy gamma rays with a E-2 spectrum from two large areas, spanning 50 above and below the Galactic centre (the “Fermi bubbles”). A hadronic mechanism was proposed for this gamma-ray emission making the Fermi bubbles promising source candidates of high-energy neutrino emission. In this work Monte Carlo simulations regarding the detectability of high-energy neutrinos from the Fermi bubbles with the future multi-km(3) neutrino telescope KM3NeT in the Mediterranean Sea are presented. Under the hypothesis that the gamma-ray emission is completely due to hadronic processes, the results indicate that neutrinos from the bubbles could be discovered in about one year of operation, for a neutrino spectrum with a cutoff at 100 TeV and a detector with about 6 km(3) of instrumented volume. The effect of a possible lower cutoff is also considered.
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KM3NeT Collaboration(Adrian-Martinez, S. et al), Aguilar, J. A., Bigongiari, C., Calvo Diaz-Aldagalan, D., Emanuele, U., Gomez-Gonzalez, J. P., et al. (2013). Expansion cone for the 3-inch PMTs of the KM3NeT optical modules. J. Instrum., 8, T03006–20pp.
Abstract: Detection of high-energy neutrinos from distant astrophysical sources will open a new window on the Universe. The detection principle exploits the measurement of Cherenkov light emitted by charged particles resulting from neutrino interactions in the matter containing the telescope. A novel multi-PMT digital optical module (DOM) was developed to contain 31 3-inch photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). In order to maximize the detector sensitivity, each PMT will be surrounded by an expansion cone which collects photons that would otherwise miss the photocathode. Results for various angles of incidence with respect to the PMT surface indicate an increase in collection efficiency by 30% on average for angles up to 45 degrees with respect to the perpendicular. Ray-tracing calculations could reproduce the measurements, allowing to estimate an increase in the overall photocathode sensitivity, integrated over all angles of incidence, by 27% (for a single PMT). Prototype DOMs, being built by the KM3NeT consortium, will be equipped with these expansion cones.
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KM3NeT Collaboration(Adrian-Martinez, S. et al), Barrios-Marti, J., Calvo Diaz-Aldagalan, D., Hernandez-Rey, J. J., Illuminati, G., Lotze, M., et al. (2016). Letter of intent for KM3NeT 2.0. J. Phys. G, 43(8), 084001–130pp.
Abstract: The main objectives of the KM3NeT Collaboration are (i) the discovery and subsequent observation of high-energy neutrino sources in the Universe and (ii) the determination of the mass hierarchy of neutrinos. These objectives are strongly motivated by two recent important discoveries, namely: (1) the high-energy astrophysical neutrino signal reported by IceCube and (2) the sizable contribution of electron neutrinos to the third neutrino mass eigenstate as reported by Daya Bay, Reno and others. To meet these objectives, the KM3NeT Collaboration plans to build a new Research Infrastructure consisting of a network of deep-sea neutrino telescopes in the Mediterranean Sea. A phased and distributed implementation is pursued which maximises the access to regional funds, the availability of human resources and the synergistic opportunities for the Earth and sea sciences community. Three suitable deep-sea sites are selected, namely off-shore Toulon (France), Capo Passero (Sicily, Italy) and Pylos (Peloponnese, Greece). The infrastructure will consist of three so-called building blocks. A building block comprises 115 strings, each string comprises 18 optical modules and each optical module comprises 31 photo-multiplier tubes. Each building block thus constitutes a three-dimensional array of photo sensors that can be used to detect the Cherenkov light produced by relativistic particles emerging from neutrino interactions. Two building blocks will be sparsely configured to fully explore the IceCube signal with similar instrumented volume, different methodology, improved resolution and complementary field of view, including the galactic plane. One building block will be densely configured to precisely measure atmospheric neutrino oscillations.
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