New Experimental Techniques for Neutrino Physics

中微子物理新实验技术

• 批准号: 1806251
• 负责人: Joseph Formaggio
• 金额: $ 60万
• 依托单位: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-09-01 至 2022-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1806251&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: New; Experimental; Techniques; Neutrino; Physics

Neutrinos are amongst the most abundant particles in the Universe, they are keys to many astrophysical processes, and they may hold the key to explaining the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe. They are known to occur in nature in three types, or "flavors." It has also been observed that neutrinos could switch flavors through a process known as neutrino oscillation. From such oscillation experiments, it is found that neutrinos must have a non-zero mass. This is the first known indication that there is physics beyond the very successful Standard Model of Particle Physics. Neutrino mass remains one of the most important open questions in physics and experiments are searching for ways to determine it since with their abundance they could play an important role in the evolution of our Universe. Direct laboratory determinations based on the precise measurement of the beta spectrum have been expanding over the past 80 years due to increasingly powerful electron spectrometry techniques. In 2009, the PI proposed a new technique by which the energy spectrum of low energy electrons can be extracted. The technique, known as Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy (CRES), relies on the detection and measurement of coherent radiation created from the cyclotron motion of electrons in a magnetic field. Knowledge of neutrino masses has broad implications for the scientific community, particularly in the fields of nuclear physics, particle physics, and cosmology. The CRES technique, being a general spectroscopic technique for low energy electrons, has broad applicability. The use of metallic superconducting bolometers for recoil detection also has broad reach, with potential applications in nuclear reactor monitoring and direct dark matter detection. Research engagement with undergraduate students is facilitated by MIT's Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP), which connects students and faculty and allows students to engage in basic research throughout the academic year.In 2009, the PI proposed a new technique by which the energy spectrum of low energy electrons can be extracted. The CRES technique relies on the detection and measurement of coherent radiation created from the cyclotron motion of electrons in a magnetic field. Such a frequency-based technique has the capability of overcoming many of the limitations imposed by traditional spectroscopic techniques used in direct neutrino mass experiments using tritium. The Project 8 experiment, of which the PI is the spokesperson, has now successfully demonstrated how the CRES technique is effective in precisely measuring the kinetic energy of electrons emitted from a radioactive gas. With the proof of principle firmly established, this award provides continued support of the next stage of Project 8's R&D program, moving toward a neutrino mass measurement from tritium beta decay. In particular, the next phase is to make a first measurement of a tritium beta spectrum in order to determine the scalability of the technique. Research will also continue to determine the technique's ultimate capability: to probe the inverted neutrino mass scale.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

中微子是宇宙中最丰富的粒子之一，它们是许多天体物理过程的关键，并且可能是解释宇宙物质-反物质不对称性的关键。已知它们在自然界中以三种类型或“口味”存在。人们还观察到，中微子可以通过称为中微子振荡的过程改变味道。从这样的振荡实验中，我们发现中微子必须具有非零质量。这是第一个已知的迹象表明，除了非常成功的粒子物理学标准模型之外还有物理学。中微子质量仍然是物理学中最重要的悬而未决的问题之一，实验正在寻找确定它的方法，因为它们的丰富性可以在我们宇宙的演化中发挥重要作用。由于电子能谱技术的日益强大，在过去 80 年里，基于 β 能谱精确测量的直接实验室测定不断扩大。 2009年，PI提出了一种可以提取低能电子能谱的新技术。该技术被称为回旋辐射发射光谱（CRES），依赖于对磁场中电子回旋运动产生的相干辐射的检测和测量。关于中微子质量的知识对科学界具有广泛的影响，特别是在核物理、粒子物理和宇宙学领域。 CRES技术作为低能电子的通用光谱技术，具有广泛的适用性。使用金属超导测辐射热计进行反冲检测也具有广泛的应用范围，在核反应堆监测和直接暗物质检测方面具有潜在的应用。麻省理工学院的本科生研究机会计划 (UROP) 促进了本科生的研究参与，该计划将学生和教师联系起来，允许学生在整个学年中从事基础研究。2009 年，PI 提出了一种新技术，通过该技术，可以提取低能电子。 CRES 技术依赖于对磁场中电子回旋运动产生的相干辐射的检测和测量。 这种基于频率的技术能够克服在使用氚的直接中微子质量实验中使用的传统光谱技术所施加的许多限制。由PI担任代言人的Project 8实验现已成功展示了CRES技术如何有效地精确测量放射性气体发射的电子动能。 随着原理证明的牢固确立，该奖项为 Project 8 研发计划的下一阶段提供了持续的支持，朝着氚β衰变的中微子质量测量迈进。 特别是，下一阶段是对氚β光谱进行首次测量，以确定该技术的可扩展性。 研究还将继续确定该技术的最终能力：探测倒置中微子质量尺度。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

Cyclotron radiation emission spectroscopy signal classification with machine learning in project 8

项目 8 中使用机器学习的回旋辐射发射光谱信号分类

• DOI: 10.1088/1367-2630/ab71bd
• 发表时间: 2020
• 期刊: New Journal of Physics
• 影响因子: 3.3
• 作者: Esfahani, A Ashtari;Böser, S;Buzinsky, N;Cervantes, R;Claessens, C;Viveiros, L de;Fertl, M;Formaggio, J A;Gladstone, L;Guigue, M
• 通讯作者: Guigue, M

A Ioffe Trap Magnet for the Project 8 Atom Trapping Demonstrator

用于 Project 8 原子捕获演示器的 Ioffe 陷阱磁铁

• DOI: 10.1109/tasc.2020.2985675
• 发表时间: 2020
• 期刊: IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity
• 影响因子: 1.8
• 作者: Radovinsky, Alexey L.;Lindman, Alec;Formaggio, Joseph A.;Minervini, Joseph V.
• 通讯作者: Minervini, Joseph V.

Bayesian analysis of a future β decay experiment's sensitivity to neutrino mass scale and ordering

未来β衰变实验对中微子质量尺度和排序敏感性的贝叶斯分析

• DOI: 10.1103/physrevc.103.065501
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Physical Review C
• 影响因子: 3.1
• 作者: Ashtari Esfahani, A.;Betancourt, M.;Bogorad, Z.;Böser, S.;Buzinsky, N.;Cervantes, R.;Claessens, C.;de Viveiros, L.;Fertl, M.;Formaggio, J. A.
• 通讯作者: Formaggio, J. A.

Electron radiated power in cyclotron radiation emission spectroscopy experiments

回旋辐射发射光谱实验中的电子辐射功率

• DOI: 10.1103/physrevc.99.055501
• 发表时间: 2019
• 期刊: Physical Review C
• 影响因子: 3.1
• 作者: Esfahani, A. Ashtari;Bansal, V.;Böser, S.;Buzinsky, N.;Cervantes, R.;Claessens, C.;de Viveiros, L.;Doe, P. J.;Fertl, M.;Formaggio, J. A.
• 通讯作者: Formaggio, J. A.