36 research outputs found
KATRIN: an experiment to measure the neutrino mass
KATRIN is a very large scale tritium-beta-decay experiment to determine the
mass of the neutrino. It is presently under construction at the
Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, and makes use of the Tritium Laboratory built
there for the ITER project. The combination of a very large retarding-potential
electrostatic-magnetic spectrometer and an intense gaseous molecular tritium
source makes possible a sensitivity to neutrino mass of 0.2 eV, about an order
of magnitude below present laboratory limits. The measurement is kinematic and
independent of whether the neutrino is Dirac or Majorana. The status of the
project is summarized briefly in this report.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure. For Proceedings of Topics in Astroparticle and
Underground Physics, Sendai, Sept. 2007. To be published in J.Phys.: Conf.
Serie
Precision high voltage divider for the KATRIN experiment
The Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino Experiment (KATRIN) aims to determine the
absolute mass of the electron antineutrino from a precise measurement of the
tritium beta-spectrum near its endpoint at 18.6 keV with a sensitivity of 0.2
eV. KATRIN uses an electrostatic retardation spectrometer of MAC-E filter type
for which it is crucial to monitor high voltages of up to 35 kV with a
precision and long-term stability at the ppm level. Since devices capable of
this precision are not commercially available, a new high voltage divider for
direct voltages of up to 35 kV has been designed, following the new concept of
the standard divider for direct voltages of up to 100 kV developed at the
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB). The electrical and mechanical
design of the divider, the screening procedure for the selection of the
precision resistors, and the results of the investigation and calibration at
PTB are reported here. During the latter, uncertainties at the low ppm level
have been deduced for the new divider, thus qualifying it for the precision
measurements of the KATRIN experiment.Comment: 22 pages, 12 figure
The KATRIN Experiment
The KArlsruhe TRitium Neutrino mass experiment, KATRIN, aims to search for
the mass of the electron neutrino with a sensitivity of 0.2 eV/c^2 (90% C.L.)
and a detection limit of 0.35 eV/c^2 (5 sigma). Both a positive or a negative
result will have far reaching implications for cosmology and the standard model
of particle physics and will give new input for astroparticle physics and
cosmology. The major components of KATRIN are being set up at the Karlsruhe
Institut of Technology in Karlsruhe, Germany, and test measurements of the
individual components have started. Data taking with tritium is scheduled to
start in 2012.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure, proceedings of the TAUP 2009 International
Conference on Topics in Astroparticle and Underground Physics, to be
published in Journal of Physics, Conference Serie
Neutrino mass constraint from CMB and its degeneracy with other cosmological parameters
We show that the cosmic microwave background (CMB) data of WMAP can give
subelectronvolt limit on the neutrino mass: m_nu < 0.63 eV (95% CL). We also
investigate its degeneracy with other cosmological parameters. In particular,
we show the Hubble constant derived from the WMAP data decreases considerably
when the neutrino mass is a few times 0.1 eV.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, prepared for the TAUP2007 Proceeding
Direct Measurement of Neutrino Mass
The sum of the masses of the three neutrino mass eigenstates is now
constrained both from above and below, and lies between 55 and 6900 meV. The
lower limit is set by neutrino oscillations and the fact that masses are
non-negative. The upper limit is set by laboratory measurements on the beta
decay of tritium. These determinations share a common characteristic of being
essentially model independent, or "direct." The clustering on large scales in
the universe depends on this quantity, and, within the framework of Lambda-CDM
cosmology, favors a mass sum below about 600 meV. In this article, the
laboratory approach to neutrino mass via beta decay is emphasized, particularly
an experiment now under construction, KATRIN, on the beta decay of tritium.
Another candidate beta-active nuclide, Re-187, offers an advantage in phase
space but calls for a very different experimental approach.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, for Proceedings of Carolina International
Symposium on Neutrino Physics, Columbia, SC, May 15-17, 2008. To be published
in J.Phys.: Conf. Serie
The KATRIN Pre-Spectrometer at reduced Filter Energy
The KArlsruhe TRItium Neutrino experiment, KATRIN, will determine the mass of
the electron neutrino with a sensitivity of 0.2 eV (90% C.L.) via a measurement
of the beta-spectrum of gaseous tritium near its endpoint of E_0 =18.57 keV. An
ultra-low background of about b = 10 mHz is among the requirements to reach
this sensitivity. In the KATRIN main beam-line two spectrometers of MAC-E
filter type are used in a tandem configuration. This setup, however, produces a
Penning trap which could lead to increased background. We have performed test
measurements showing that the filter energy of the pre-spectrometer can be
reduced by several keV in order to diminish this trap. These measurements were
analyzed with the help of a complex computer simulation, modeling multiple
electron reflections both from the detector and the photoelectric electron
source used in our test setup.Comment: 22 pages, 12 figure
A UV LED-based fast-pulsed photoelectron source for time-of-flight studies
We report on spectroscopy and time-of-flight measurements using an 18 keV
fast-pulsed photoelectron source of adjustable intensity, ranging from single
photoelectrons per pulse to 5 photoelectrons per microsecond at pulse
repetition rates of up to 10 kHz. Short pulses between 40 ns and 40
microseconds in length were produced by switching light emitting diodes with
central output wavelengths of 265 nm and 257 nm, in the deep ultraviolet (or
UV-C) regime, at kHz frequencies. Such photoelectron sources can be useful
calibration devices for testing the properties of high-resolution electrostatic
spectrometers, like the ones used in current neutrino mass searches.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figure
Topical Review on "Beta-beams"
Neutrino physics is traversing an exciting period, after the important
discovery that neutrinos are massive particles, that has implications from
high-energy physics to cosmology. A new method for the production of intense
and pure neutrino beams has been proposed recently: the ``beta-beam''. It
exploits boosted radioactive ions decaying through beta-decay. This novel
concept has been the starting point for a new possible future facility. Its
main goal is to address the crucial issue of the existence of CP violation in
the lepton sector. Here we review the status and the recent developments with
beta-beams. We discuss the original, the medium and high-energy scenarios as
well as mono-chromatic neutrino beams produced through ion electron-capture.
The issue of the degeneracies is mentioned. An overview of low energy
beta-beams is also presented. These beams can be used to perform experiments of
interest for nuclear structure, for the study of fundamental interactions and
for nuclear astrophysics.Comment: Topical Review for Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle
Physics, published version, minor corrections, references adde
Theory of neutrinoless double beta decay
Neutrinoless double beta decay, which is a very old and yet elusive process,
is reviewed. Its observation will signal that lepton number is not conserved
and the neutrinos are Majorana particles. More importantly it is our best hope
for determining the absolute neutrino mass scale at the level of a few tens of
meV. To achieve the last goal certain hurdles have to be overcome involving
particle, nuclear and experimental physics. Nuclear physics is important for
extracting the useful information from the data. One must accurately evaluate
the relevant nuclear matrix elements, a formidable task. To this end, we review
the sophisticated nuclear structure approaches recently been developed, which
give confidence that the needed nuclear matrix elements can be reliably
calculated. From an experimental point of view it is challenging, since the
life times are long and one has to fight against formidable backgrounds. If a
signal is found, it will be a tremendous accomplishment. Then, of course, the
real task is going to be the extraction of the neutrino mass from the
observations. This is not trivial, since current particle models predict the
presence of many mechanisms other than the neutrino mass, which may contribute
or even dominate this process. We will, in particular, consider the following
processes: (i)The neutrino induced, but neutrino mass independent contribution.
(ii)Heavy left and/or right handed neutrino mass contributions.
(iii)Intermediate scalars (doubly charged etc). (iv)Supersymmetric (SUSY)
contributions. We will show that it is possible to disentangle the various
mechanisms and unambiguously extract the important neutrino mass scale, if all
the signatures of the reaction are searched in a sufficient number of nuclear
isotopes.Comment: 104 pages, 6 tables, 25 figures.References added. To appear in ROP
(Reports on Progress in Physics), copyright RO
Monitoring of the operating parameters of the KATRIN Windowless Gaseous Tritium Source
The KArlsruhe TRItium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment will measure the absolute mass scale of neutrinos with a sensitivity of mnu = 200 meV/c2 by high-precision spectroscopy close to the tritium beta-decay endpoint at 18.6 keV. Its Windowless Gaseous Tritium Source (WGTS) is a beta-decay source of high intensity (1011 sâ1) and stability, where high-purity molecular tritium at 30 K is circulated in a closed loop with a yearly throughput of 10 kg. To limit systematic effects the column density of the source has to be stabilized at the 10â3 level. This requires extensive sensor instrumentation and dedicated control and monitoring systems for parameters such as the beam tube temperature, injection pressure, gas composition and so on. In this paper, we give an overview of these systems including a dedicated laser-Raman system as well as several beta-decay activity monitors. We also report on the results of the WGTS demonstrator and other large-scale test experiments giving proof-of-principle that all parameters relevant to the systematics can be controlled and monitored on the 10â3 level or better. As a result of these works, the WGTS systematics can be controlled within stringent margins, enabling the KATRIN experiment to explore the neutrino mass scale with the design sensitivity