ICARUS

Home page of the Experiment: http://www.aquila.infn.it:80/icarus/

> Key element of the scientific program is the adopted detection technique. With its superior performance in terms of space and energy resolution together with the other characteristics (homogeneous and isotropic response, high sensitivity both at low and high energy, self triggering capability) the Liquid Argon TPC is the most advanced instrument within its class (large volume underground detectors), especially suited for the search of rare events. Originally conceived by Carlo Rubbia, spokesman of the Collaboration, the Liquid Argon TPC technology has been developed and finally transported to full industrial methods in years of intense R&D.

> First step of the ICARUS scientific program is the construction of a module of about 600 ton sensitive mass (T600). Being assembled in the INFN Pavia Laboratories, the T600 has been there fully tested and then transported to the INFN LNGS Underground Laboratories.

> The T600 has its own scientific program, mainly devoted to neutrino studies, which is somehow limited by the mass but can still be considered as relevant to neutrino physics. However, as clearly stated in the original proposal, the T600 has to be considered as one more step towards larger detector masses and it finds its main justification in solving technical issues associated with the actual operation of a large mass liquid argon device in the LNGS tunnel.

> The ICARUS Collaboration has recently submitted a new proposal for the realization of a multi-kton detector based on the replication (cloning) of the T600 module dedicated to atmospheric and long baseline neutrino oscillation studies.