Bulletin of the American Physical Society
2017 Fall Meeting of the APS Division of Nuclear Physics
Volume 62, Number 11
Wednesday–Saturday, October 25–28, 2017; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Session DH: Neutrino Mass |
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Chair: David Moore, Yale University Room: Marquis B |
Thursday, October 26, 2017 10:30AM - 10:42AM |
DH.00001: KATRIN: Toward an Improved Measurement of Neutrino Mass Diana Parno The Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino experiment (KATRIN), presently in the late stages of commissioning, is designed to probe the absolute mass scale of the neutrino using the kinematics of tritium beta decay. KATRIN has a design mass sensitivity of 0.2 eV at 90\% confidence, and will be able to search for sterile neutrinos at eV and keV scales. Progress in the last year includes the first transmission of electrons through the full 70-m beamline; characterization of subsystems and backgrounds through extensive commissioning and analysis; and first tests of multiple calibration sources. I will report on these results, and on prospects for the first, upcoming tritium run periods. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, October 26, 2017 10:42AM - 10:54AM |
DH.00002: Krypton Measurements at Katrin Larisa Thorne The Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino (Katrin) experiment aims to make a precision measurement of the neutrino mass, which is buried within the endpoint of the tritium beta decay spectrum, with a design sensitivity of 0.2ev (90{\%} c.L.). Krypton (83mkr) is introduced into the system as a gaseous or a condensed solid source, and is used for calibration and systematic studies of the entire Katrin beamline. Krypton is the ideal candidate for these tasks because it is an isotropic source of conversion electrons with well-defined energies (\textasciitilde 17- 32 kev range) and narrow (\textasciitilde few ev) linewidths, and has a half-life of 1.8 hours which is long enough for spectroscopic studies but short enough to prevent permanent beamline contamination. We present here a summary of early results from the first Katrin Krypton measurement campaign. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, October 26, 2017 10:54AM - 11:06AM |
DH.00003: Background from the inter-spectrometer Penning trap in the KATRIN experiment Luke Kippenbrock The Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment plans to make a determination of the effective electron anti-neutrino mass using tritium $\beta$-decay. During tandem high-voltage operation of the spectrometers that analyze the $\beta$-particle energy, a Penning trap is formed, which naturally leads to the production of background electrons that are indistinguishable from the signal $\beta$-particles. In this talk, the background-generation mechanism is discussed, and simulations of the trap are also presented. Focus is given to analyzing the results of commissioning measurements with the Penning trap and testing the effectiveness of one of the proposed methods to mitigate the trap during tritium operation. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, October 26, 2017 11:06AM - 11:18AM |
DH.00004: TRIMS: Validating T$_2$ Molecular Effects \\for Neutrino Mass Experiments Ying-Ting Lin The Tritium Recoil-Ion Mass Spectrometer (TRIMS) experiment examines the branching ratio of the molecular tritium (T$_2$) beta decay to the bound state ($^3$HeT$^+$). Measuring this branching ratio helps to validate the current molecular final-state theory applied in neutrino mass experiments such as KATRIN and Project 8. TRIMS consists of a magnet-guided time-of-flight mass spectrometer with a detector located on each end. By measuring the kinetic energy and time-of-flight difference of the ions and beta particles reaching the detectors, we will be able to distinguish molecular ions from atomic ones and hence derive the ratio in question. We will give an update on the apparatus, simulation software, and analysis tools, including efforts to improve the resolution of our detectors and to characterize the stability and uniformity of our field sources. We will also share our commissioning results and prospects for physics data. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, October 26, 2017 11:18AM - 11:30AM |
DH.00005: Project 8, a new approach to measuring neutrino mass R. G. Hamish Robertson The neutrino mass scale is presently unknown but the average mass must lie in the range 0.02 to 2 eV as determined from neutrino oscillations and laboratory measurements of tritium beta decay. Project 8 is a new technique designed to allow measurements in this range, possibly down to 0.04 eV. It makes use of cyclotron radiation emitted by electrons from tritium decay in a uniform magnetic field. The viability of the method on a small scale was demonstrated recently using the isotope $^{83m}$Kr. Project 8 is being developed in a phased approach through systems of increasing size and complexity, with the final goal a large-scale atomic tritium experiment. We will describe the status of the program, and some of the challenges and advances. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, October 26, 2017 11:30AM - 11:42AM |
DH.00006: A Phenomenological Model for Electron Kinematics in the Project 8 Experiment Ali Ashtari Esfahani Project 8 is a tritium endpoint mass experiment aiming for sensitivity to the whole neutrino mass range allowed by the inverted hierarchy. The proof of concept for Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy (CRES) as a novel technique for measuring electron energies has been demonstrated through spectroscopy of monoenergetic $^{83m}$Kr lines. We present the developments in understanding the electron kinematics in magnetic traps which will further improve our already exceptional energy resolution. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, October 26, 2017 11:42AM - 11:54AM |
DH.00007: Project 8 - Energy Spectrum Reconstruction Using Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy Luis Saldana Project 8 is developing Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy (CRES) on the beta-decay spectrum of tritium for the measurement of the absolute neutrino mass scale. CRES is a frequency-based technique that aims to probe the endpoint in the tritium energy spectrum with a target sensitivity of 0.04 eV. Current studies are performed on monoenergetic electrons emitted by a gaseous \textsuperscript{83\textit{m}}Kr calibration source. We discuss the path from frequency measurements into an energy spectrum alongside the analysis and simulation of Project 8 data. We also discuss some of the challenges present in our event reconstructions and the techniques developed to address them. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, October 26, 2017 11:54AM - 12:06PM |
DH.00008: Progress on a demonstrator for the atomic tritium phase of Project 8 Eric Machado The current phase of the Project 8 neutrino mass experiment seeks to utilize Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy (CRES) to obtain high-resolution measurements of electron energies from molecular tritium beta decays, with the final phase of the experiment aiming to be sensitive to the full range of masses allowed by the inverted hierarchy. To that end, a future goal of the experiment is to use the CRES technique to measure the spectrum produced by magnetically-trapped source of gaseous atomic tritium, a measurement which avoids a major systematic contribution to the endpoint of the tritium energy spectrum caused by the molecular final state distribution. Progress is presented on an atomic hydrogen-based demonstrator of atom production, cooling, and magnetic-trapping techniques. [Preview Abstract] |
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