Detector Development for a Sterile Neutrino Search with the KATRIN Experiment

Abstract

The KATRIN (Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino) experiment investigates the energetic endpoint of the tritium ${\hat{I}}^2$-decay spectrum to determine the effective mass of the electron anti-neutrino with a precision of $200\mathrm{meV}$ ($90\%$ C.L.) after an effective data taking time of three years. The TRISTAN (tritium ${\hat{I}}^2$-decay to search for sterile neutrinos) group aims to detect a sterile neutrino signature by measuring the entire tritium ${\hat{I}}^2$-decay spectrum with an upgraded KATRIN system. One of the greatest challenges is to handle the high signal rates generated by the strong activity of the KATRIN tritium source. Therefore, a novel multi-pixel silicon drift detector is being designed, which is able to handle rates up to $10^8\mathrm{cps}$ with an excellent energy resolution of $<200\mathrm{eV}$ (FWHM) at $10\mathrm{keV}$. This work gives an overview of the ongoing detector development and test results of the first seven pixel prototype detectors.

5 pages, 6 figures, Proceedings of the 7th International Pontecorvo Neutrino Physics School