KM3NeT - ORCA: measuring the neutrino mass ordering in the Mediterranean

• Published in: Journal of Physics: Conference Series
• Main Author: Kouchner, Antoine
• Other Authors: AstroParticule et Cosmologie (APC (UMR_7164)), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2015
• Subjects: neutrino: mass; neutrino: atmosphere; neutrino: detector; matter: oscillation; KM3NeT; optical; performance; Cherenkov; cascade; tracks; site; [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]; Orca
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-01553887; https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/718/6/062030

International audience ORCA (Oscillations Research with Cosmics in the Abyss) is the low-energy branch of KM3NeT, the underwater Cherenkov neutrino detector in the Mediterranean. Its primary goal is to resolve the long-standing unsolved question of the neutrino mass ordering by measuring matter oscillation effects in atmospheric neutrinos. To be deployed at the French KM3NeT site, ORCA’s multi-PMT optical modules will exploit the excellent optical properties of deep seawater to reconstruct cascade and track events with a few GeV of energy. This contribution reviews the methods and technology, and discusses the current expected performances.