Since 1993, neutrino research has been conducted at the Baikal Deep Underwater Neutrino Telescope (BDUNT) which is located 1.1 km below the surface of Lake Baikal.[1]
The first part of NT-200, the detector NT-36 with 36 optical modules (OMs) at 3 short strings, was put into operation and took data up to March 1995. A 72-OMs array, NT-72, run in 1995–1996. In 1996, it was replaced by the four-string array NT-96. Over its 700 days effective lifetime, 320,000,000 muon events were collected with NT-36, NT-72, and NT-96. The lake Baikal Neutrino Telescope is unique among neutrino telescopes in that its location allows it to look out for a hypothetical particle known as a monopole which is a candidate for dark matter. Due to its design, BDUNT picks up a lot of atmospheric neutrinos created by solar winds interacting with the atmosphere — as opposed to cosmic neutrinos which can give clues to cosmic events and are therefore of greater interest to physicists.
Beginning 6 April 1997, NT-144, a six-string array with 144 OMs, took data in Lake Baikal. NT-200 array was completed in April 1998. The Baikal Neutrino Telescope NT-200 is being deployed in Lake Baikal, 3.6 kilometers (2.2 mi) from shore at a depth of 1.1 kilometers (0.68 mi). It consists of 192 optical modules (OMs).[2]
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