AMANDA (Antarctic muon and neutrino detecting array)

With colleagues at U. of Wisconsin, U.C. Irvine, Stockholm U., and Uppsala U., the authors are creating a huge high-energy neutrino telescope, AMANDA, at the South Pole. Among its goals are to search for neutrinos from Active Galactic Nuclei and from annihilation of dark-matter particles in the sun and earth. It will consist of ten vertical strings (a central one surrounded by nine others on a circle of radius 30 m) each containing 20 photomultiplier tubes embedded in clear ice at a depth of approximately 1500 m. The energy threshold is approximately 30 GeV for muon detection and the effective area will range from approximately 7000 to 20,000 m2, depending on muon energy. Four of the strings were installed in January 1994. The performance is calibrated by studying pulses of laser light and by detecting muons in coincidence with air showers recorded in a surface array. The authors discuss some of the astrophysical goals and data taken with the first four strings