Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy of Electrons from Tritium Beta Decay and ${}^{83\mathrm{m}}$Kr Internal Conversion

Abstract

Project 8 has developed a novel technique, Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy (CRES), for direct neutrino mass measurements. A CRES-based experiment on the beta spectrum of tritium has been carried out in a small-volume apparatus. We provide a detailed account of the experiment, focusing on systematic effects and analysis techniques. In a Bayesian (frequentist) analysis, we measure the tritium endpoint as $18553_{-19}^{+18}$ ($18548_{-19}^{+19}$) eV and set upper limits of 155 (152) eV (90% C.L.) on the neutrino mass. No background events are observed beyond the endpoint in 82 days of running. We also demonstrate an energy resolution of $1.66\pm 0.19$ eV in a resolution-optimized magnetic trap configuration by measuring ${}^{83\mathrm{m}}$Kr 17.8-keV internal-conversion electrons. These measurements establish CRES as a low-background, high-resolution technique with the potential to advance neutrino mass sensitivity.

41 pages, 33 figures, submitted to PRC

References in corpus (8)

• Determining the neutrino mass with Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy - Project 8
• Single electron detection and spectroscopy via relativistic cyclotron radiation
• Direct Measurements of Neutrino Mass
• The Design, Construction, and Commissioning of the KATRIN Experiment
• Assessment of molecular effects on neutrino mass measurements from tritium beta decay
• Electron Radiated Power in Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy Experiments
• Bayesian Analysis of a Future Beta Decay Experiment's Sensitivity to Neutrino Mass Scale and Ordering
• A method for determining the transition energies of ${}^{83m}$Kr at the KATRIN experiment

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• Study of beta spectrum shapes relevant to the prediction of reactor antineutrino spectra
• Real-time Signal Detection for Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy Measurements using Antenna Arrays
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