Study of the sensibility of the Antares neutrino telescope to very high energy photons,contribution to the time calibration of the detector

Depuis les fonds méditerranéens, les quelques 900 photomultiplicateurs du télescope à neutrinos Antares scrutent les abysses pour tenter de discerner, parmi la bioluminescence et la radioactivité marine, les photons Cerenkov émis par les muons issus de neutrinos astrophysiques, et de distinguer ces muons de ceux générés par les gerbes atmosphériques produites par les rayons cosmiques. Antares accumule des données depuis 2006 ; cette prouesse technique permet d'envisager un avenir favorable à l'astronomie neutrino sous-marine : Antares devrait être le précurseur d'un instrument de plus grande envergure, KM3NeT. Les performances d'un télescope sont caractérisées, entre autres, par sa résolution angulaire. Dans le cas d'Antares, celle-ci est directement liée à la résolution temporelle des éléments du détecteur. La correction de l'une des principales sources de dégradation de cette résolution temporelle, l'effet de walk créé par l'établissement d'un seuil fixe pour le filtrage du signal issu des photomultiplicateurs, est exposée dans ce manuscrit. Cette correction, mise en oeuvre dans la chaîne logicielle officielle de la collaboration Antares, améliore notamment l'estimateur de qualité de la reconstruction des événements. L'implémentation présentée laisse le champ libre à certaines optimisations. L'auteur tente en outre d'évaluer, à partir d'une simulation Monte-Carlo complète, la possibilité d'utiliser des sources de photons de très haute énergie comme sources de muons calibrées afin d'estimer le pointé absolu et la résolution angulaire du télescope. Bien que la procédure soit intrinsèquement entachée de larges incertitudes, il est démontré que la possibilité de détecter de telles sources est extrêmement faible. Cette étude montre également que les photons de très haute énergie ne constituent pas une source notable de bruit de fond neutrino.From the seafloor, the 900-odd photomultiplier tubes of the Antares neutrino telescope scrutinize the abysses attempting to discern, amid bioluminescence and marine radioactivity, Cerenkov photons emitted by muons from astrophysical neutrinos, and to distinguish these muons from those generated by air showers produced by cosmic rays. Antares has been collecting data since 2006 ; this feat of engineering has paved the way for submarine neutrino astronomy : Antares is expected to be the forerunner of a larger instrument, KM3NeT. A telescope s performance is characterized in part by its angular resolution. In the case of Antares, the angular resolution is directly related to the time resolution of the detector s elements. This manuscript presents a correction for one of the main sources of deterioration of this time resolution, the walk effect induced by the set up of a fixed threshold for triggering the photomultiplier tubes signal. This correction, implemented in the official software chain of the Antares collaboration, improves in particular the events reconstruction quality estimator. This implementation allows further optimizations. The author also attempts to evaluate, using a complete Monte-Carlo simulation, the possibility of using very high energy photon sources as calibrated muon beams in order to estimate the absolute pointing and the angular resolution of the telescope. Although limited by large uncertainties, it is demonstrated that the possibility to detect such sources is extremely small. In addition, it is shown that the atmospheric neutrino background induced by very high-energy photons is negligible

Study of the sensibility of the Antares neutrino telescope to very high energy photons,contribution to the time calibration of the detector

Depuis les fonds méditerranéens, les quelques 900 photomultiplicateurs du télescope à neutrinos Antares scrutent les abysses pour tenter de discerner, parmi la bioluminescence et la radioactivité marine, les photons Cerenkov émis par les muons issus de neutrinos astrophysiques, et de distinguer ces muons de ceux générés par les gerbes atmosphériques produites par les rayons cosmiques. Antares accumule des données depuis 2006 ; cette prouesse technique permet d'envisager un avenir favorable à l'astronomie neutrino sous-marine : Antares devrait être le précurseur d'un instrument de plus grande envergure, KM3NeT. Les performances d'un télescope sont caractérisées, entre autres, par sa résolution angulaire. Dans le cas d'Antares, celle-ci est directement liée à la résolution temporelle des éléments du détecteur. La correction de l'une des principales sources de dégradation de cette résolution temporelle, l'effet de walk créé par l'établissement d'un seuil fixe pour le filtrage du signal issu des photomultiplicateurs, est exposée dans ce manuscrit. Cette correction, mise en oeuvre dans la chaîne logicielle officielle de la collaboration Antares, améliore notamment l'estimateur de qualité de la reconstruction des événements. L'implémentation présentée laisse le champ libre à certaines optimisations. L'auteur tente en outre d'évaluer, à partir d'une simulation Monte-Carlo complète, la possibilité d'utiliser des sources de photons de très haute énergie comme sources de muons calibrées afin d'estimer le pointé absolu et la résolution angulaire du télescope. Bien que la procédure soit intrinsèquement entachée de larges incertitudes, il est démontré que la possibilité de détecter de telles sources est extrêmement faible. Cette étude montre également que les photons de très haute énergie ne constituent pas une source notable de bruit de fond neutrino.From the seafloor, the 900-odd photomultiplier tubes of the Antares neutrino telescope scrutinize the abysses attempting to discern, amid bioluminescence and marine radioactivity, Cerenkov photons emitted by muons from astrophysical neutrinos, and to distinguish these muons from those generated by air showers produced by cosmic rays. Antares has been collecting data since 2006 ; this feat of engineering has paved the way for submarine neutrino astronomy : Antares is expected to be the forerunner of a larger instrument, KM3NeT. A telescope s performance is characterized in part by its angular resolution. In the case of Antares, the angular resolution is directly related to the time resolution of the detector s elements. This manuscript presents a correction for one of the main sources of deterioration of this time resolution, the walk effect induced by the set up of a fixed threshold for triggering the photomultiplier tubes signal. This correction, implemented in the official software chain of the Antares collaboration, improves in particular the events reconstruction quality estimator. This implementation allows further optimizations. The author also attempts to evaluate, using a complete Monte-Carlo simulation, the possibility of using very high energy photon sources as calibrated muon beams in order to estimate the absolute pointing and the angular resolution of the telescope. Although limited by large uncertainties, it is demonstrated that the possibility to detect such sources is extremely small. In addition, it is shown that the atmospheric neutrino background induced by very high-energy photons is negligible

Étude de la sensibilité du télescope à neutrinos ANTARES aux photons de très haute énergie — Contribution à l'étalonnage en temps du détecteur

From the seafloor, the 900-odd photomultiplier tubes of the ANTARES neutrino telescope scrutinize the abysses attempting to discern, amid bioluminescence and marine radioactivity, Čerenkov photons emitted by muons from astrophysical neutrinos, and to distinguish these muons from those generated by air showers produced by cosmic rays. ANTARES has been collecting data since 2006 ; this feat of engineering has paved the way for submarine neutrino astronomy : ANTARES is expected to be the forerunner of a larger instrument, KM3NeT. A telescope's performance is characterized in part by its angular resolution. In the case of ANTARES, the angular resolution is directly related to the time resolution of the detector's elements. This manuscript presents a correction for one of the main sources of deterioration of this time resolution, the walk effect induced by the set up of a fixed threshold for triggering the photomultiplier tubes signal. This correction, implemented in the official software chain of the ANTARES collaboration, improves in particular the events reconstruction quality estimator. This implementation allows further optimizations. The author also attempts to evaluate, using a complete Monte-Carlo simulation, the possibility of using very high energy photon sources as calibrated muon beams in order to estimate the absolute pointing and the angular resolution of the telescope. Although limited by large uncertainties, it is demonstrated that the possibility to detect such sources is extremely small. In addition, it is shown that the atmospheric neutrino background induced by very high-energy photons is negligible.Depuis les fonds méditerranéens, les quelques 900 photomultiplicateurs du télescope à neutrinos ANTARES scrutent les abysses pour tenter de discerner, parmi la bioluminescence et la radioactivité marine, les photons Čerenkov émis par les muons issus de neutrinos astrophysiques, et de distinguer ces muons de ceux générés par les gerbes atmosphériques produites par les rayons cosmiques. ANTARES accumule des données depuis 2006 ; cette prouesse technique permet d'envisager un avenir favorable à l'astronomie neutrino sous-marine : ANTARES devrait être le précurseur d'un instrument de plus grande envergure, KM3NeT. Les performances d'un télescope sont caractérisées, entre autres, par sa résolution angulaire. Dans le cas d'ANTARES, celle-ci est directement liée à la résolution temporelle des éléments du détecteur. La correction de l'une des principales sources de dégradation de cette résolution temporelle, l'effet de walk créé par l'établissement d'un seuil fixe pour le filtrage du signal issu des photomultiplicateurs, est exposée dans ce manuscrit. Cette correction, mise en œuvre dans la chaîne logicielle officielle de la collaboration ANTARES, améliore notamment l'estimateur de qualité de la reconstruction des événements. L'implémentation présentée laisse le champ libre à certaines optimisations. L'auteur tente en outre d'évaluer, à partir d'une simulation Monte-Carlo complète, la possibilité d'utiliser des sources de photons de très haute énergie comme sources de muons calibrées afin d'estimer le pointé absolu et la résolution angulaire du télescope. Bien que la procédure soit intrinsèquement entachée de larges incertitudes, il est démontré que la possibilité de détecter de telles sources est extrêmement faible. Cette étude montre également que les photons de très haute énergie ne constituent pas une source notable de bruit de fond neutrino

Deep-Sea Bioluminescence Blooms after Dense Water Formation at the Ocean Surface

The deep ocean is the largest and least known ecosystem on Earth. It hosts numerous pelagic organisms, most of which are able to emit light. Here we present a unique data set consisting of a 2.5-year long record of light emission by deep-sea pelagic organisms, measured from December 2007 to June 2010 at the ANTARES underwater neutrino telescope in the deep NW Mediterranean Sea, jointly with synchronous hydrological records. This is the longest continuous time-series of deep-sea bioluminescence ever recorded. Our record reveals several weeks long, seasonal bioluminescence blooms with light intensity up to two orders of magnitude higher than background values, which correlate to changes in the properties of deep waters. Such changes are triggered by the winter cooling and evaporation experienced by the upper ocean layer in the Gulf of Lion that leads to the formation and subsequent sinking of dense water through a process known as “open-sea convection”. It episodically renews the deep water of the study area and conveys fresh organic matter that fuels the deep ecosystems. Luminous bacteria most likely are the main contributors to the observed deep-sea bioluminescence blooms. Our observations demonstrate a consistent and rapid connection between deep open-sea convection and bathypelagic biological activity, as expressed by bioluminescence. In a setting where dense water formation events are likely to decline under global warming scenarios enhancing ocean stratification, in situ observatories become essential as environmental sentinels for the monitoring and understanding of deep-sea ecosystem shifts

Deep-Sea Bioluminescence Blooms after Dense Water Formation at the Ocean Surface

<p>The deep ocean is the largest and least known ecosystem on Earth. It hosts numerous pelagic organisms, most of which are able to emit light. Here we present a unique data set consisting of a 2.5-year long record of light emission by deep-sea pelagic organisms, measured from December 2007 to June 2010 at the ANTARES underwater neutrino telescope in the deep NW Mediterranean Sea, jointly with synchronous hydrological records. This is the longest continuous time-series of deep-sea bioluminescence ever recorded. Our record reveals several weeks long, seasonal bioluminescence blooms with light intensity up to two orders of magnitude higher than background values, which correlate to changes in the properties of deep waters. Such changes are triggered by the winter cooling and evaporation experienced by the upper ocean layer in the Gulf of Lion that leads to the formation and subsequent sinking of dense water through a process known as "open-sea convection". It episodically renews the deep water of the study area and conveys fresh organic matter that fuels the deep ecosystems. Luminous bacteria most likely are the main contributors to the observed deep-sea bioluminescence blooms. Our observations demonstrate a consistent and rapid connection between deep open-sea convection and bathypelagic biological activity, as expressed by bioluminescence. In a setting where dense water formation events are likely to decline under global warming scenarios enhancing ocean stratification, in situ observatories become essential as environmental sentinels for the monitoring and understanding of deep-sea ecosystem shifts.</p>

Time series of oceanographic parameters measured at the Lacaze-Duthiers Canyon (LDC) and the open-sea convection region in the Gulf of Lion (LION) from January 2008 to June 2010.

<p>(<b>a</b>) Potential temperature at 500 and 1,000 m depth at the LDC mooring site and (<b>b</b>) from various water depths at the LION site, jointly with (<b>c</b>) salinity at 2,300 m depth, (<b>d</b>) horizontal current speed and (<b>e</b>) vertical current speed from various water depths at the LION site. The four levels of temperature measurements at LION presented here are a sub-set of measurement depths (see Fig. S1). Essentially stable temperatures in the deepest layers in 2008 show that open-sea convection reached only 700 m and did not modify the deep water in the study area. In contrast, strong convection events, reaching 2,300 m depth, occurred during February-March 2009 and 2010 with an abrupt cooling of the upper water column and an increase in temperature and salinity in the deep layers. A concurrent increase in current speed was also noticed in winter 2009 and 2010. The 5-month long data gap in 2009 is due to a damaging of the mooring line during the April 2009 recovery, which induced a postponement of its redeployment to September 2009.</p

Links between bioluminescence, current speed and the modification of the properties of the Western Mediterranean Deep Water (WMDW).

<p>Box-and-whisker plot of median PMT counting rates (log scale) versus current speed classes for salinities higher (red) or lower (grey) than 38.479 for data recorded in (<b>a</b>) 2008, (<b>b</b>) 2009 and (<b>c</b>) between January and June 2010. The salinity threshold of 38.479 is used as a marker of the intrusion of newly formed deep water at the ANTARES site. While bioluminescence increases with current speed, it is also enhanced by the modification of WMDW (red box-plots). The top and bottom of each box-plot represent 75% (upper quartile) and 25% (lower quartile) of all values, respectively. The horizontal line is the median. The ends of the whiskers represent the 10^th and 90^th percentiles. Outliers are not represented. The statistical comparison between the two box-plots (red and grey) in each current class is given by the Kruskal-Wallis test: the observed difference between the two samples is significant beyond the 0.05 (*), the 0.01 (**) and the 0.001 (***) levels. The absence of an asterisk in some current classes indicates that the difference between the two box-plots is not significant. The number of measurements for salinity lower or higher than 38.479 is given in black or in red, respectively. Note the different scales of figures a, b and c.</p