The Q-value of tritium β-decay and the neutrino mass

Otten, Ernst W.; Bonn, J.; Weinheimer, C.

doi:10.1016/j.ijms.2006.01.035

Cited by 26 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…So far the most stringent limit of approximately 2 eV at 95% c.l. on the mass of the electron antineutrino has been derived from the investigation of the end point of the β − -decay spectrum of tritium [66]. Here, the Q-value, which is the mass difference of tritium and 3 He, enters into the fit of the decay spectrum as a free parameter.…”

Section: Neutrino Physicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Precision mass measurements for nuclear astro- and neutrino physics

Blaum

Eliseev

Eronen

et al. 2012

J. Phys.: Conf. Ser.

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Measurements of ground-state properties for nuclear structure studies by precision mass and laser spectroscopy K Blaum, M Block, R B Cakirli et al. Abstract. Nuclear masses are indispensable ingredients in numerous physics applications ranging from nuclear structure physics, where, e.g., the shell closures and nucleon correlation energies can be studied by accurate mass measurements, via the nuclear astrophysics, where the masses of nuclei far from the valley of β-stability determine the pathways of, e.g., rpand r-processes of nucleosynthesis in stars, to tests of the standard model and fundamental interactions, where, e.g., the very-accurate masses of parent and superallowed β-decay daughter nuclei serve as one of inputs for the checking of the unitarity of the CKM quark-mixing matrix. In this review we focus on recent direct mass measurements conducted with storage rings and Penning trap mass spectrometry. Although these measurements have a broad impact, we restrict our discussion on two topics, namely nuclear astrophysics and neutrino physics. IntroductionAtomic nuclei are unique many-body systems composed of two types of fermions, namely protons and neutrons, in which the binding energy is the result of the interplay of the strong, weak and electromagnetic fundamental interactions acting between the constituent nucleons. The complexity of these systems is, on one hand, a challenge for ab-initio theories but, on the other hand, they are natural laboratories for investigating these interactions.Since the first experiments of J. J. Thomson about a century ago [1], which can be considered as a birth of mass spectrometry, mass measurements are one of the major boosters of physics research. In nuclear physics, the structure effects like, e.g., shell closures [2,3] or nucleon-nucleon pairing [4], have been discovered in the past as irregularities on the smooth nuclear mass surface. Also today, nuclear masses continue to be a very useful tool to study nuclear structure, like, e.g., phenomenological proton-neutron interaction, δV pn , [5,6], onset of nuclear deformations [7], halo nuclei [8], shell structure [9], collective excitations [10], etc. Although, the masses of about 3000 nuclides are known experimentally, the knowledge of still unknown masses of very neutron-rich nuclei turns to be decisive in our understanding of the r-process on nucleosynthesis in stars, the process responsible for the production of about a half of all heavy elements above iron [11]. We note, however, that many of the nuclei on the r-process path will remain inaccessible even at the next generation radioactive beam facilities and, hence, their masses have to be calculated.

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Section: Neutrino Physicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Precision mass measurements for nuclear astro- and neutrino physics

Blaum

Eliseev

Eronen

et al. 2012

J. Phys.: Conf. Ser.

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“…But the unreasonably large neutrino energy will boost σ m 2 ,ν through (2) far into a noncompetitive region, even if one considers the smallest conceivable uncertainties σ Q , σ p,ν . This is the summary of the various discussions on this topic over the years [5][6][7].…”

Section: Neutrino Mass and β-Decay Kinematicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Any change of the momentum of the charged recoil ion and β-particle by uncontrolled electromagnetic fields along their path Respecting such extreme limits is hardly conceivable, as stated e.g. in [6]. With regard to the proposed setup, (9) requires the control of the magnetic field to the level of 100 pico-Gauss along a flight path of 7 m altogether-a tremendous challenge, considering the suppression of any spurious magnetizations or electrical currents, even inside a multilayer µ-metal shield.…”

Section: Proposed Experiments and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Comment on ‘Using cold atoms to measure neutrino mass’

Otten¹

2011

New J. Phys.

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View the article online for updates and enhancements. Abstract. The proposal by Jerkins et al (2010 New J. Phys. 12 043022) to determine the neutrino mass from a complete kinematic reconstruction of the β-decay of trapped, cold tritium atoms is reanalyzed here. It is found that this innovative concept will hardly lead to competitive results because of the following shortcomings that have been identified: (i) a viable concept for a β-spectrometer with the required performance is missing; (ii) a factor of 10 6 in the event rate is missing; and (iii) controlling spurious electromagnetic potentials to the level of 10 −13 Tm and 10 −9 V is hardly conceivable. Contents

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“…Typical uncertainties on Q are too large compared to the precision required in order to use the Q-value as an input for the endpoint measurement [58]. For example, the Q-value for Tritium decay has been determined as 18589.8 ± 1.2 eV [59], to be compared to the 0.2 eV sensitivity goal of KATRIN.…”

Section: Description Of the Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Future high precision measurements at the MPIK/UW-PTMS in Heidelberg [60] aim at a precision for Q of 30 meV, which may be used as cross check for the KATRIN experiment. In general it is therefore necessary to fit for the Q-value, in addition to the neutrino mass [40,58]. Even though the neutrino mass and Q-value are not degenerate if full spectral information is available, in an analysis of the total counts at a single , the effect of a non-zero neutrino mass can mimic a slightly larger Q-value.…”

Section: Description Of the Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring neutrino mass with radioactive ions in a storage ring

et al. 2009

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We propose a method to measure the neutrino mass kinematically using beams of ions which undergo beta decay. The idea is to tune the ion beam momentum so that in most decays, the electron is forward moving with respect to the beam, and only in decays near the endpoint is the electron moving backwards. Then, by counting the backward moving electrons one can observe the effect of neutrino mass on the beta spectrum close to the endpoint. In order to reach sensitivities for m ν < 0.2 eV, it is necessary to control the ion momentum with a precision better than δp/p < 10 −5 , identify suitable nuclei with low Q-values (in the few to ten keV range), and one must be able to observe at least O(10 18 ) decays.

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The Q-value of tritium β-decay and the neutrino mass

Cited by 26 publications

References 25 publications

Precision mass measurements for nuclear astro- and neutrino physics

Precision mass measurements for nuclear astro- and neutrino physics

Comment on ‘Using cold atoms to measure neutrino mass’

Measuring neutrino mass with radioactive ions in a storage ring

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