Eur. Phys. J. C (2017) 77: 419
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-017-4979-2

Regular Article - Experimental Physics

An algorithm for the reconstruction of high-energy neutrino-induced particle showers and its application to the ANTARES neutrino telescope

¹ GRPHE, Université de Haute Alsace, Institut universitaire de technologie de Colmar, 34 rue du Grillenbreit, BP 50568, 68008, Colmar, France
² Laboratory of Applied Bioacoustics, Rambla Exposició, Technical University of Catalonia, 08800, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona, Spain
³ INFN-Sezione di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146, Genoa, Italy
⁴ Erlangen Centre for Astroparticle Physics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erwin-Rommel-Str. 1, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
⁵ Institut d’Investigació per a la Gestió Integrada de les Zones Costaneres (IGIC), Universitat Politècnica de València, C/Paranimf 1, 46730, Gandia, Spain
⁶ Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS/IN2P3, CPPM, Marseille, France
⁷ APC, Univ Paris Diderot, CNRS/IN2P3, CEA/Irfu, Obs de Paris, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France
⁸ IFIC, Instituto de Física Corpuscular (CSIC-Universitat de València) c/Catedrático José Beltrán, 2, 46980, Paterna, Valencia, Spain
⁹ LAM, Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille, Pôle de l’Étoile Site de Château-Gombert, rue Frédéric Joliot-Curie 38, 13388, Marseille Cedex 13, France
¹⁰ INFN, Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (LNS), Via S. Sofia 62, 95123, Catania, Italy
¹¹ Nikhef, Science Park, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
¹² Huygens-Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratorium, Universiteit Leiden, Leiden, The Netherlands
¹³ Universiteit van Amsterdam, Instituut voor Hoge-Energie Fysica, Science Park 105, 1098 XG, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
¹⁴ INFN, Sezione di Roma, P.le Aldo Moro 2, 00185, Rome, Italy
¹⁵ Dipartimento di Fisica dell’Università La Sapienza, P.le Aldo Moro 2, 00185, Rome, Italy
¹⁶ Institute for Space Science, 077125, Bucharest, Măgurele, Romania
¹⁷ Gran Sasso Science Institute, Viale Francesco Crispi 7, 00167, L’Aquila, Italy
¹⁸ INFN, Sezione di Bologna, Viale Berti-Pichat 6/2, 40127, Bologna, Italy
¹⁹ INFN, Sezione di Bari, Via E. Orabona 4, 70126, Bari, Italy
²⁰ Géoazur, UCA, CNRS, IRD, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, Sophia Antipolis, France
²¹ Dipartimento di Fisica dell’Università, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146, Genoa, Italy
²² Université Paris-Sud, 91405, Orsay Cedex, France
²³ Laboratory of Physics of Matter and Radiations, University Mohammed I, B.P.717, 6000, Oujda, Morocco
²⁴ Institut für Theoretische Physik und Astrophysik, Universität Würzburg, Emil-Fischer Str. 31, 97074, Würzburg, Germany
²⁵ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia dell’Università, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127, Bologna, Italy
²⁶ Laboratoire de Physique Corpusculaire, Clermont Université, Université Blaise Pascal, CNRS/IN2P3, BP 10448, 63000, Clermont-Ferrand, France
²⁷ INFN, Sezione di Catania, Viale Andrea Doria 6, 95125, Catania, Italy
²⁸ LSIS, Aix Marseille Université CNRS ENSAM LSIS UMR 7296, 13397, Marseille, France
²⁹ Université de Toulon CNRS LSIS UMR 7296, 83957, La Garde, France
³⁰ Institut Universitaire de France, 75005, Paris, France
³¹ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Landsdiep 4, 1797 SZ, ’t Horntje (Texel), The Netherlands
³² Dr. Remeis-Sternwarte and ECAP, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Sternwartstr. 7, 96049, Bamberg, Germany
³³ Moscow State University, Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics, Leninskie gory, 119991, Moscow, Russia
³⁴ Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (MIO), Aix-Marseille University, 13288, Marseille Cedex 9, France
³⁵ Université du Sud Toulon-Var, CNRS-INSU/IRD UM 110, 83957, La Garde Cedex, France
³⁶ Dipartimento di Fisica ed Astronomia dell’Università, Viale Andrea Doria 6, 95125, Catania, Italy
³⁷ Direction des Sciences de la Matière, Institut de recherche sur les lois fondamentales de l’Univers, Service de Physique des Particules, CEA Saclay, 91191, Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
³⁸ INFN, Sezione di Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, 56127, Pisa, Italy
³⁹ Dipartimento di Fisica dell’Università, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, 56127, Pisa, Italy
⁴⁰ INFN, Sezione di Napoli, Via Cintia, 80126, Naples, Italy
⁴¹ Dipartimento di Fisica dell’Università Federico II di Napoli, Via Cintia, 80126, Naples, Italy
⁴² Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, 67000, Strasbourg, France
⁴³ University Mohammed V in Rabat, Faculty of Sciences, 4 av. Ibn Battouta, B.P. 1014, R.P. 10000, Rabat, Morocco

^* e-mail: Thomas.Eberl@fau.de

Received: 10 March 2017
Accepted: 2 June 2017
Published online: 21 June 2017

Abstract

A novel algorithm to reconstruct neutrino-induced particle showers within the ANTARES neutrino telescope is presented. The method achieves a median angular resolution of for shower energies below 100 TeV. Applying this algorithm to 6 years of data taken with the ANTARES detector, 8 events with reconstructed shower energies above 10 TeV are observed. This is consistent with the expectation of about 5 events from atmospheric backgrounds, but also compatible with diffuse astrophysical flux measurements by the IceCube collaboration, from which 2–4 additional events are expected. A C.L. upper limit on the diffuse astrophysical neutrino flux with a value per neutrino flavour of is set, applicable to the energy range from 23 TeV to 7.8 PeV, assuming an unbroken spectrum and neutrino flavour equipartition at Earth.