Speaker
Description
ARCA (Astroparticle Research with Cosmics in the Abyss) is the high-energy neutrino telescope being built as part of the KM3NeT deep-sea research infrastructure. Optimised for a high angular resolution to neutrinos in the TeV-PeV regime, its main physics goals are the exploration of the high-energy astrophysical neutrino signal reported by IceCube, and the discovery of Galactic neutrino sources.
Currently in Phase 1 deployment, in Phase 2 ARCA will consist of two "building blocks" deployed in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast from Capo Passero (Sicily, Italy). Each block will consist of 115 strings; each string comprises 18 optical modules, and each optical module carries 31 photo-multiplier tubes. The excellent optical properties of deep seawater allow high-resolution neutrino studies by collecting the Cherenkov light emitted along the path of charged particles produced in neutrino interactions inside or close to the detector.
An overview of the expected performances of the detector to several possible source classes will be given, together with an update of the present status of construction.