PhD defense of Marta Colomer-Molla
Abstract
Abstract
Two analyses are detailed in this thesis related to neutrino and multi-messenger astronomy with Cherenkov telescopes in the Mediterranean Sea.
The first analysis explores the capabilities of the KM3NeT neutrino telescopes to detect the signal from a Galactic core-collapse supernova (CCSN), as well as the physical constraints that could be extracted from such a detection. Together with the Sun, CCSNe are the only confirmed sources of astrophysical neutrinos. A search method for these astrophysical neutrino sources with KM3NeT has been developed during this thesis, based on the analysis of the first data which has allowed for a good characterisation of the background and the detector performance. The results show that the KM3NeT detector might be sensitive to this MeV neutrino flux, with a coverage at 5 sigma discovery potential of more than 95% of Galactic CCSN progenitors. Therefore, KM3NeT will contribute to the observation of the next Galactic explosion. The CCSN analysis has been implemented in a real-time trigger, that is active since summer 2019. Moreover, it has yielded the first KM3NeT real-time results with the follow-up of the unmodelled candidate gravitational-wave (GW) events. These results have allowed the KM3NeT experiment to join the SNEWS network, to which all detectors sensitive to CCSN neutrino send their alerts.
The second analysis exploits the data of the ANTARES neutrino telescope to search for high-energy neutrinos (TeV-PeV) in time and space coincidence with gravitational-wave sources and very-high energy gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). In fact, compact binary mergers and gamma-ray bursts have long been suggested as potential high-energy neutrino emitters. Typically, these searches look for muon neutrinos coming through the Earth (upgoing tracks). For the first time, all-flavors (including the so-called shower events) were included in this kind of searches. Moreover, these analyses have been applied to sources both below the ANTARES horizon (seen as upgoing events), and above the horizon of the ANTARES telescope (downgoing). This has lead to an improvement of ~15-30% for upgoing events and up to a 200% for searches above the horizon. The analyses carried out during the thesis yielded no neutrino in coincidence with any of the gravitational-wave sources from the first GW catalog, neither with the first GRBs detected at very high energies.
The first analysis explores the capabilities of the KM3NeT neutrino telescopes to detect the signal from a Galactic core-collapse supernova (CCSN), as well as the physical constraints that could be extracted from such a detection. Together with the Sun, CCSNe are the only confirmed sources of astrophysical neutrinos. A search method for these astrophysical neutrino sources with KM3NeT has been developed during this thesis, based on the analysis of the first data which has allowed for a good characterisation of the background and the detector performance. The results show that the KM3NeT detector might be sensitive to this MeV neutrino flux, with a coverage at 5 sigma discovery potential of more than 95% of Galactic CCSN progenitors. Therefore, KM3NeT will contribute to the observation of the next Galactic explosion. The CCSN analysis has been implemented in a real-time trigger, that is active since summer 2019. Moreover, it has yielded the first KM3NeT real-time results with the follow-up of the unmodelled candidate gravitational-wave (GW) events. These results have allowed the KM3NeT experiment to join the SNEWS network, to which all detectors sensitive to CCSN neutrino send their alerts.
The second analysis exploits the data of the ANTARES neutrino telescope to search for high-energy neutrinos (TeV-PeV) in time and space coincidence with gravitational-wave sources and very-high energy gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). In fact, compact binary mergers and gamma-ray bursts have long been suggested as potential high-energy neutrino emitters. Typically, these searches look for muon neutrinos coming through the Earth (upgoing tracks). For the first time, all-flavors (including the so-called shower events) were included in this kind of searches. Moreover, these analyses have been applied to sources both below the ANTARES horizon (seen as upgoing events), and above the horizon of the ANTARES telescope (downgoing). This has lead to an improvement of ~15-30% for upgoing events and up to a 200% for searches above the horizon. The analyses carried out during the thesis yielded no neutrino in coincidence with any of the gravitational-wave sources from the first GW catalog, neither with the first GRBs detected at very high energies.
The work under the direction of Antoine Kouchner and Juan de Dios Zornoza Gómez
The defense will be held remotely on zoom (link below).
Zoom link
https://u-paris.zoom.us/j/96198931159?pwd=eDhOMjkvRVVTMTBiaVdyNHJ5SGtlQT09
ID de réunion : 961 9893 1159
Code secret : 811028
https://u-paris.zoom.us/j/96198931159?pwd=eDhOMjkvRVVTMTBiaVdyNHJ5SGtlQT09
ID de réunion : 961 9893 1159
Code secret : 811028
Dates:
Tuesday, 29 September, 2020 - 14:30 to 16:30
Localisation / Location:
APC
- Soutenance de thèse
Equipe(s) organisatrice(s) / Organizing team(s):
- Particules