FH Particle Physics Pizza seminar: Neutrino mass measurements with KATRIN and beyond

Monday 10 Jun 2024, 11:30 → 13:00 Europe/Berlin

SR 4 (DESY Hamburg)

Aaron Dean Spector (DESY), Claudia Seitz (DESY), Juergen Reuter (DESY)

The goal of the FH Particle Physics Pizza seminar is to foster discussion and exchange between the various FH physics groups at DESY. Specifically, we are trying to enhance the exchange between the experimental and theory community, with in-depth talks about a specific topic in a more informal setting. 
 

We will order pizza (vegetarian and meat options with cheese) to eat for lunch. In order to have a better estimate of how many people come, please click on the "Register" link below. 

 

Please register if you want to eat pizza, we will collect 7 Euros from every participant who registers. If you have any specific food requirements (vegan, gluten free, etc.) please let us know in advance and we will see what we can do. If a reference paper exists, we will link it from the page and encourage you to read it before the seminar. 

 

If you do not want pizza, you do not need to register, just join us in the seminar.

 

ZOOM connection

https://desy.zoom.us/j/62825129183?pwd=NDRuQTZBeFNKeWVnMzBzNkJIMm9IUT09
Meeting ID: 628 2512 9183
Passcode:  629967

11:30 → 12:10 Neutrino mass measurements with KATRIN and beyond

The neutrino mass is one of the still-to-be-solved puzzles of particle physics. It is possible to measure the neutrino mass in a model-independent way using the kinematics of single beta decay, as pursued by the Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment.
At KATRIN, beta-decay electrons from the windowless gaseous tritium source are guided magnetically through the transport and pumping section to the spectrometer and detector section. At the spectrometer, the electrons’ momenta are collimated magnetically, and an electric field acts on them as a high-pass filter, only allowing electrons with enough kinetic energy to be guided to the detector where they are counted.
This combination of a high-luminosity source with a precision integrating spectrometer allows for spectroscopy of the tritium beta-decay spectrum in its endpoint region where the impact of the neutrino mass on the spectral shape is strongest. KATRIN sets the presently most stringent upper limit on the neutrino mass obtained by direct measure- ments of 0.8 eV/c2. Currently, the KATRIN experiment is running to increase statistics and aims to reach a sensitivity below 0.3 eV/c2.
Ultimately, determining the neutrino mass may require constructing experiments with sensitivities as low as the lower boundaries obtained by neutrino oscillation experiments (0.05 eV/c2 in case of inverted ordering, or 0.009 eV/c2 for normal ordering). To reach those sensitivities, we are developing new technologies such as a differential detector with sub-eV resolution and an atomic tritium source.
For the differential detector, we are currently testing quantum sensors, more precisely, μm-sized cryogenic (10 mK) calorimeters. Additionally, we are currently building a first- of-its-kind setup for creating tritium atoms. Subsequently, these atoms need to be cooled and magnetically trapped. This will be done within the Atomic Tritium Demonstrator to solve key challenges for future atomic sources together with the global community (e.g., Project 8).
The talk will first introduce the KATRIN experiment, present its recent results, and then give a short overview of efforts for future neutrino mass experiments.

Speaker: Caroline Rodenbeck (WWU Münster)