10 research outputs found
Locust: C++ software for simulation of RF detection
The Locust simulation package is a newC++software tool developed to simulate the measurement of time-varying electromagnetic fields using RF detection techniques. Modularity and flexibility allow for arbitrary input signals, while concurrently supporting tight integration with physics-based simulations as input. External signals driven by the Kassiopeia particle tracking package are discussed, demonstrating conditional feedback between Locust and Kassiopeia during software execution. An application of the simulation to the Project8 experiment is described
SYNCA: A Synthetic Cyclotron Antenna for the Project 8 Collaboration
Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy (CRES) is a technique for measuring the kinetic energy of charged particles through a precision measurement of the frequency of the cyclotron radiation generated by the particle\u27s motion in a magnetic field. The Project 8 collaboration is developing a next-generation neutrino mass measurement experiment based on CRES. One approach is to use a phased antenna array, which surrounds a volume of tritium gas, to detect and measure the cyclotron radiation of the resulting β-decay electrons. To validate the feasibility of this method, Project 8 has designed a test stand to benchmark the performance of an antenna array at reconstructing signals that mimic those of genuine CRES events. To generate synthetic CRES events, a novel probe antenna has been developed, which emits radiation with characteristics similar to the cyclotron radiation produced by charged particles in magnetic fields. This paper outlines the design, construction, and characterization of this Synthetic Cyclotron Antenna (SYNCA). Furthermore, we perform a series of measurements that use the SYNCA to test the position reconstruction capabilities of the digital beamforming reconstruction technique. We find that the SYNCA produces radiation with characteristics closely matching those expected for cyclotron radiation and reproduces experimentally the phenomenology of digital beamforming simulations of true CRES signals
Tritium Beta Spectrum and Neutrino Mass Limit from Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy
The absolute scale of the neutrino mass plays a critical role in physics at
every scale, from the particle to cosmological. Measurements of the tritium
endpoint spectrum have provided the most precise direct limit on the neutrino
mass scale. In this Letter, we present advances by Project 8 to the Cyclotron
Radiation Emission Spectroscopy (CRES) technique culminating in the first
frequency-based neutrino mass limit. With only a cm-scale physical
detection volume, a limit of <180 eV is extracted from the
background-free measurement of the continuous tritium beta spectrum. Using
Kr calibration data, an improved resolution of 1.660.16 eV
(FWHM) is measured, the detector response model is validated, and the
efficiency is characterized over the multi-keV tritium analysis window. These
measurements establish the potential of CRES for a high-sensitivity
next-generation direct neutrino mass experiment featuring low background and
high resolution.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, for submission to PR