145 research outputs found
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
Ultra-stable implanted 83Rb/83mKr electron sources for the energy scale monitoring in the KATRIN experiment
The KATRIN experiment aims at the direct model-independent determination of
the average electron neutrino mass via the measurement of the endpoint region
of the tritium beta decay spectrum. The electron spectrometer of the MAC-E
filter type is used, requiring very high stability of the electric filtering
potential. This work proves the feasibility of implanted 83Rb/83mKr calibration
electron sources which will be utilised in the additional monitor spectrometer
sharing the high voltage with the main spectrometer of KATRIN. The source
employs conversion electrons of 83mKr which is continuously generated by 83Rb.
The K-32 conversion line (kinetic energy of 17.8 keV, natural line width of 2.7
eV) is shown to fulfill the KATRIN requirement of the relative energy stability
of +/-1.6 ppm/month. The sources will serve as a standard tool for continuous
monitoring of KATRIN's energy scale stability with sub-ppm precision. They may
also be used in other applications where the precise conversion lines can be
separated from the low energy spectrum caused by the electron inelastic
scattering in the substrate.Comment: 30 pages, 10 figures, 1 table, minor revision of the preprint,
accepted by JINST on 5.2.201
A pulsed, mono-energetic and angular-selective UV photo-electron source for the commissioning of the KATRIN experiment
The KATRIN experiment aims to determine the neutrino mass scale with a
sensitivity of 200 meV/c^2 (90% C.L.) by a precision measurement of the shape
of the tritium -spectrum in the endpoint region. The energy analysis of
the decay electrons is achieved by a MAC-E filter spectrometer. To determine
the transmission properties of the KATRIN main spectrometer, a mono-energetic
and angular-selective electron source has been developed. In preparation for
the second commissioning phase of the main spectrometer, a measurement phase
was carried out at the KATRIN monitor spectrometer where the device was
operated in a MAC-E filter setup for testing. The results of these measurements
are compared with simulations using the particle-tracking software
"Kassiopeia", which was developed in the KATRIN collaboration over recent
years.Comment: 19 pages, 16 figures, submitted to European Physical Journal
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
Results from the Project 8 phase-1 cyclotron radiation emission spectroscopy detector
The Project 8 collaboration seeks to measure the absolute neutrino mass scale
by means of precision spectroscopy of the beta decay of tritium. Our technique,
cyclotron radiation emission spectroscopy, measures the frequency of the
radiation emitted by electrons produced by decays in an ambient magnetic field.
Because the cyclotron frequency is inversely proportional to the electron's
Lorentz factor, this is also a measurement of the electron's energy. In order
to demonstrate the viability of this technique, we have assembled and
successfully operated a prototype system, which uses a rectangular waveguide to
collect the cyclotron radiation from internal conversion electrons emitted from
a gaseous Kr source. Here we present the main design aspects of the
first phase prototype, which was operated during parts of 2014 and 2015. We
will also discuss the procedures used to analyze these data, along with the
features which have been observed and the performance achieved to date.Comment: 3 pages; 2 figures; Proceedings of Neutrino 2016, XXVII International
Conference on Neutrino Physics and Astrophysics, 4-9 July 2016, London, U
Project 8 Phase III Design Concept
We present a working concept for Phase III of the Project 8 experiment,
aiming to achieve a neutrino mass sensitivity of ( C.L.)
using a large volume of molecular tritium and a phased antenna array. The
detection system is discussed in detail.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, Proceedings of Neutrino 2016, XXVII International
Conference on Neutrino Physics and Astrophysics, 4-9 July 2016, London, U
KATRIN background due to surface radioimpurities
The goal of the KArlsruhe TRItrium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment is the determination of the effective electron antineutrino mass with a sensitivity of 0.2 eV/c at 90 % C.L.. This goal can only be achieved with a very low background level in the order of 10 mcps in the detector region of interest. A possible background source are α-decays on the inner surface of the KATRIN Main Spectrometer. Rydberg atoms, produced in sputtering processes accompanying the α-decays, are not influenced by electric or magnetic fields and freely propagate inside the vacuum of the Main Spectrometer. Here, they can be ionized by thermal radiation and the released electrons directly contribute to the KATRIN background. Two α-sources, Ra and Th, were installed at the Main Spectrometer with the purpose of temporarily increasing the background in order to study α-decay induced background processes. In this paper, we present a possible background generation mechanism and measurements performed with these two radioactive sources. Our results show a clear correlation between α-activity on the inner spectrometer surface and background from the volume of the spectrometer. Two key characteristics of the Main Spectrometer background – the dependency on the inner electrode offset potential, and the radial distribution – could be reproduced with this artificially induced background. These findings indicate a high contribution of α-decay induced events to the residual KATRIN background
Effect of a sweeping conductive wire on electrons stored in the Penning trap between the KATRIN spectrometers
The KATRIN experiment is going to search for the mass of the electron
antineutrino down to 0.2 eV/c^2. In order to reach this sensitivity the
background rate has to be understood and minimised to 0.01 counts per second.
One of the background sources is the unavoidable Penning trap for electrons due
to the combination of the electric and magnetic fields between the pre- and the
main spectrometer at KATRIN. In this article we will show that by sweeping a
conducting wire periodically through such a particle trap stored particles can
be removed, an ongoing discharge in the trap can be stopped, and the count rate
measured with a detector looking at the trap is reduced.Comment: Final version published in EPJ A, 14 pages, 19 figures (21 files
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