Speaker
Description
The discovery of a diffuse astrophysical neutrino flux by IceCube in 2013 marked the beginning of the TeV-PeV neutrino astronomy era. This was followed by reports of evidence for neutrino emission from two active galaxies (TXS 0506+056 and NGC 1068), as well as an excess of neutrinos from the galactic plane of the Milky Way. However, the source classes responsible for extragalactic neutrinos remain unknown. Furthermore, the galactic flux originates from a combination of individual sources and a diffuse flux resulting from cosmic-ray propagation, but the exact proportions are unclear. Therefore, a new high-precision experiment is necessary to advance neutrino astronomy from the discovery era to an era of precision measurements.
The Pacific Ocean Neutrino Experiment (P-ONE) is a kilometre-scale, water-based Cherenkov neutrino telescope which is currently under construction in the Cascadia Basin, off the west coast of Canada. The experiment is designed to deliver excellent angular resolution for neutrino source searches, perform flavour-sensitive measurements of the diffuse astrophysical neutrino flux, and provide complementary marine science observations. The first detector string, P-ONE-1, reached several significant milestones in 2026, from the complete integration of the detector line to pre-deployment testing. It is due to be deployed at the experimental site in September 2026.
This talk will provide an overview of the current status and prospects of the experiment, including the construction, commissioning and operational plan of P-ONE-1. It will conclude with an outlook on the scientific potential of P-ONE for high-energy neutrino source searches.