Characterisation and testing of the KM3NeT acoustic positioning system

Abstract

In underwater neutrino telescopes, the search of point-like sources through the Cherenkov detection technique requires a precise knowledge of the positions of thousands of optical sensors, spread in a volume of a few cubic kilometres. In KM3NeT the optical sensors are hosted in 700 m high semi-rigid structures, called detection units, which move under the effects of underwater currents. These movements are continuously monitored through an underwater positioning system based on acoustic emitters and receivers. In this work, the tests performed on the key elements of the positioning system are presented.