Measurement of the Laser induced thermo-acoustic effect for acoustic neutrino detection

Future neutrino telescopes with the aim to explore the extreme high energy region (above 1018 eV) require 2-3 orders of magnitude larger effective volumes compared to current optical detectors (IceCube 1 km3). One possible approach is the acoustic detection of the thermo-acoustic pressure wave generated by hadronic cascades in neutrino interactions. A major goal of the Aachen Acoustic Laboratory (AAL) is to study the thermo-acoustic effect under laboratory conditions and to develop appropriate detection methods. Central element is a large volume (3 m3) of ice or water in which sensor and emitter elements are deployed. Thermo-acoustic signals are generated by a pulsed laser beam injected into the volume. In this talk we present the experimental setup and measurements of the laser induced thermo-acoustic sound waves. In addition to these laboratory measurements an outlook on future in-situ measurements of acoustic signals in ice will be given.