- First Name:giorgio
- Last Name:riccobene
- Working Group Presenter
- Title:status of the NEMO project
- Presentation Type:Talk
- Presentation Work Group:Neutrino Astronomy
- Abstract:High energy neutrino telescope are expected to extend the knowledge of the Universe beyond the horizon observable with high energy gammas. The weak fluxes of high energy neutrinos predicted from galactic and extragalactic sources require the construction of km3-scale underwater neutrino detectors. Since 1998 the NEMO collaboration has undertaken a R&D program for the construction of an underwater km3 telescope for high energy neutrino astronomy in the Mediterranean Sea. A long-term survey of a 3500 m deep site close to the South East coast of Sicily has shown that it is optimal for the detector installation. A complete feasibility study, that considers all the components of the detector, was carried out. Simulations of the km3 performances as a function of the environmental and architectural parameters were carried out. A technological demonstrator of the apparatus, including the most critical items for the construction and installation of the km3 neutrino telescope, is under way. The deployment of this technological demonstrator at the test site (2000 m depth) of the LNS-INFN (Catania, Italy) is foreseen within summer 2006. During 2007, an electro-optical cable and a full-size NEMO tower will be deployed in the 3500 m depth site.