0000000000654126
AUTHOR
M. A. Howe
showing 10 related works from this author
Focal-plane detector system for the KATRIN experiment
2014
The focal-plane detector system for the KArlsruhe TRItium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment consists of a multi-pixel silicon p-i-n-diode array, custom readout electronics, two superconducting solenoid magnets, an ultra high-vacuum system, a high-vacuum system, calibration and monitoring devices, a scintillating veto, and a custom data-acquisition system. It is designed to detect the low-energy electrons selected by the KATRIN main spectrometer. We describe the system and summarize its performance after its final installation.
Commissioning of the vacuum system of the KATRIN Main Spectrometer
2016
The KATRIN experiment will probe the neutrino mass by measuring the β-electron energy spectrum near the endpoint of tritium β-decay. An integral energy analysis will be performed by an electro-static spectrometer (``Main Spectrometer''), an ultra-high vacuum vessel with a length of 23.2 m, a volume of 1240 m[superscript 3], and a complex inner electrode system with about 120 000 individual parts. The strong magnetic field that guides the β-electrons is provided by super-conducting solenoids at both ends of the spectrometer. Its influence on turbo-molecular pumps and vacuum gauges had to be considered. A system consisting of 6 turbo-molecular pumps and 3 km of non-evaporable getter strips ha…
First operation of the KATRIN experiment with tritium
2020
AbstractThe determination of the neutrino mass is one of the major challenges in astroparticle physics today. Direct neutrino mass experiments, based solely on the kinematics of $$\upbeta $$β-decay, provide a largely model-independent probe to the neutrino mass scale. The Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment is designed to directly measure the effective electron antineutrino mass with a sensitivity of $$0.2\hbox { eV}$$0.2eV ($$90\%$$90% CL). In this work we report on the first operation of KATRIN with tritium which took place in 2018. During this commissioning phase of the tritium circulation system, excellent agreement of the theoretical prediction with the recorded spectra was …
Reduction of stored-particle background by a magnetic pulse method at the KATRIN experiment
2018
Arenz, M., et al. “Reduction of Stored-Particle Background by a Magnetic Pulse Method at the KATRIN Experiment.” The European Physical Journal C, vol. 78, no. 9, Sept. 2018. © 2018 The Authors
Direct evidence for neutrino flavor transformation from neutral-current interactions in the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory
2002
Observations of neutral current neutrino interactions on deuterium in the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory are reported. Using the neutral current, elastic scattering, and charged current reactions and assuming the standard 8B shape, the electron-neutrino component of the 8B solar flux is 1.76 +/-0.05(stat.)+/-0.09(syst.) x10^6/(cm^2 s), for a kinetic energy threshold of 5 MeV. The non-electron neutrino component is 3.41+/-0.45(stat.)+0.48,-0.45(syst.) x10^6/(cm^2 s), 5.3 standard deviations greater than zero, providing strong evidence for solar electron neutrino flavor transformation. The total flux measured with the NC reaction is 5.09 +0.44,-0.43(stat.)+0.46,-0.43(syst.)x10^6/(cm^2 s), consi…
Improved Upper Limit on the Neutrino Mass from a Direct Kinematic Method by KATRIN
2019
We report on the neutrino mass measurement result from the first four-week science run of the Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino experiment KATRIN in spring 2019. Beta-decay electrons from a high-purity gaseous molecular tritium source are energy analyzed by a high-resolution MAC-E filter. A fit of the integrated electron spectrum over a narrow interval around the kinematic end point at 18.57 keV gives an effective neutrino mass square value of (−1.0−1.1+0.9) eV2. From this, we derive an upper limit of 1.1 eV (90% confidence level) on the absolute mass scale of neutrinos. This value coincides with the KATRIN sensitivity. It improves upon previous mass limits from kinematic measurements by almost a …
First transmission of electrons and ions through the KATRIN beamline
2018
The Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment is a large-scale effort to probe the absolute neutrino mass scale with a sensitivity of 0.2 eV (90% confidence level), via a precise measurement of the endpoint spectrum of tritium β-decay. This work documents several KATRIN commissioning milestones: the complete assembly of the experimental beamline, the successful transmission of electrons from three sources through the beamline to the primary detector, and tests of ion transport and retention. In the First Light commissioning campaign of autumn 2016, photoelectrons were generated at the rear wall and ions were created by a dedicated ion source attached to the rear section; in July 2017, …
Calibration of high voltages at the ppm level by the difference of $^{83\mathrm{m}}$Kr conversion electron lines at the KATRIN experiment
2018
The neutrino mass experiment KATRIN requires a stability of 3 ppm for the retarding potential at − 18.6 kV of the main spectrometer. To monitor the stability, two custom-made ultra-precise high-voltage dividers were developed and built in cooperation with the German national metrology institute Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB). Until now, regular absolute calibration of the voltage dividers required bringing the equipment to the specialised metrology laboratory. Here we present a new method based on measuring the energy difference of two [superscript 83m]Kr conversion electron lines with the KATRIN setup, which was demonstrated during KATRIN’s commissioning measurements in July 2…
Measurement of day and night neutrino energy spectra at SNO and constraints on neutrino mixing parameters
2002
The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) has measured day and night solar neutrino energy spectra and rates. For charged current events, assuming an undistorted $^8$B spectrum, the night minus day rate is $14.0% \pm 6.3% ^{+1.5}_{-1.4}%$ of the average rate. If the total flux of active neutrinos is additionally constrained to have no asymmetry, the $\nu_e$ asymmetry is found to be $7.0% \pm 4.9% ^{+1.3}_{-1.2}%$. A global solar neutrino analysis in terms of matter-enhanced oscillations of two active flavors strongly favors the Large Mixing Angle (LMA) solution.
High-resolution spectroscopy of gaseous $^\mathrm{83m}$Kr conversion electrons with the KATRIN experiment
2020
In this work, we present the first spectroscopic measurements of conversion electrons originating from the decay of metastable gaseous $^\mathrm{83m}$Kr with the Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment. The results obtained in this calibration measurement represent a major commissioning milestone for the upcoming direct neutrino mass measurement with KATRIN. The successful campaign demonstrates the functionalities of the full KATRIN beamline. The KATRIN main spectrometer's excellent energy resolution of ~ 1 eV made it possible to determine the narrow K-32 and L$_3$-32 conversion electron line widths with an unprecedented precision of ~ 1 %.