Underwater neutrino telescopes: Detectors for astro-particle physics and a gateway for deep-sea laboratories

Abstract

The simultaneous observation of cosmic hadrons (protons and nuclei), photons and neutrinos (i.e., the so-called multimessenger astronomy) is providing a deeper understanding of the high-energy Universe and on the cosmic sources of high-energy particles. Our comprehension of the high-energy Universe is indeed rapidly increasing thanks to novel experiments that allow for precise measurements of ultra-high energy cosmic ray fluxes and the identification of several tens of astrophysical sources of gamma rays.