Characterization of optical properties of the site of the ANTARES neutrino telescope.

Abstract: ANTARES is a neutrino detector based on a three-dimensional grid of photomultipliers tubes (PMT's) arranged in several detection lines anchored to the seabed at depth of 2.5km in the Mediterranean Sea (40km off the Toulon coast in France), its main physics goal is the reconstruction and identification of high energy neutrinos of extra-terrestrial origin. The PMT's register the Cherenkov light induced by relativistic charged leptons produced by the interaction of neutrinos with material in the detector surroundings. The propagation of Cherenkov light strongly depends on the optical properties of the sea water, the understanding of which is crucial in order to achieve the expected detector performance. To reach the ANTARES physics goals, good time and positioning calibration systems are required. The ANTARES optical beacon system consists of a set of pulsed light sources strategically located throughout the detector. The system is mainly used for time calibration but can also be used as a tool to study the water optical properties and their stability. In this contribution we will present the current status of our measurements of the group velocity and transmission length of light carried out between 2008 and 2011. A set of water models strategically defined will be discussed as well as some preliminary results concerning track reconstruction parameters. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]