First search for point sources of high-energy cosmic neutrinos with the antares neutrino telescope

Abstract

Results are presented of a search for cosmic sources of high-energy neutrinos with the ANTARES neutrino telescope. The data were collected during 2007 and 2008 using detector configurations containing between 5 and 12 detection lines. The integrated live time of the analyzed data is 304 days. Muon tracks are reconstructed using a likelihood-based algorithm. Studies of the detector timing indicate a median angular resolution of 0.5 0.1deg. The neutrino flux sensitivity is 7.5 × 10-8(E ν/ GeV) -2 GeV-1 s-1 cm-2 for the part of the sky that is always visible (δ < -48deg), which is better than limits obtained by previous experiments. No cosmic neutrino sources have been observed. © 2011. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.