2013/10/01 by N. S. Oblath, Oblath, N. S. · 1 citation
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #FOS: Physical sciences #High Energy Physics - Experiment (hep-ex) #Instrumentation and Detectors (physics.ins-det) #Neutrino Physics Research #Nuclear Experiment (nucl-ex) #Particle accelerators and beam dynamics
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1310.0397
openalex publication_date 2013/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The Project 8 experiment aims to measure the neutrino mass using tritium beta decays. Beta-decay electron energies will be measured with a novel technique: as the electrons travel in a uniform magnetic field their cyclotron radiation will be detected. The frequency of each electron's cyclotron radiation is inversely proportional to its total relativistic energy; therefore, by observing the cyclotron radiation we can make a precise measurement of the electron energies. The advantages of this technique include scalability, excellent energy resolution, and low backgrounds. The collaboration is using a prototype experiment to study the feasibility of the technique with a 83mKr source. Demonstrating the ability to see the 17.8 keV and 30.2 keV conversion electrons from 83mKr will show that it may be possible to measure tritium beta-decay electron energies (Q ≈ 18.6 keV) with their cyclotron radiation. Progress on the prototype, analysis and signal-extraction techniques, and an estimate of the potential future of the experiment will be discussed.