Neutrinos have sort of been the belle of the ball in particle physics lately. One of the prominent experiments looking into these electrically neutral particles, which are key to our universe’s existence, is the KATRIN experiment located in Karlsruhe, Germany. Neutrinos are produced by a wide variety of processes. It is because they are created in radioactive decays, nuclear reactions in the sun, and cosmic events occurring all over the universe.
For one, neutrinos have a weird and very, very small mass. Scientists believe it’s mass is less than one-millionth the mass of an electron. Specifically, their mass is thought to be less than 0.45 electron volts. The exact mass of neutrinos is still unknown. This currently makes them the only class of fundamental particle without a final or conclusive mass measurement. This lack of certainty has created tremendous hurdles for physicists attempting to fathom what these mysterious particles are doing.
The large and international KATRIN experiment—short for Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino Experiment—addresses the fundamental neutrino mystery directly. It aims to make precision measurements of electron antineutrinos, an antimatter counterpart of these elusive particles. Physicist Diana Parno, co-spokesperson for KATRIN, directs the experiment from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Through state-of-the-art technologies and methods, the collaboration is determining the vastness of neutrinos’ mass by precise measurement and observation.
By using data from 36 million captured electrons, KATRIN aims to detect the faint effects that result from the mass of the antineutrino. The experiment’s unique approach allows researchers to obtain findings that are independent of prior assumptions, increasing the reliability of the results. Since then, KATRIN has made tremendous progress on the path to resolving relevant neutrino properties. Fargo is still collecting data and hopes to continue its research through at least late 2025.
Neutrinos are not just produced in our sun, they’re produced in many astrophysical phenomena throughout the cosmos. These particles not only carry no charge, but they interact very weakly with matter, rendering them nearly impossible to detect and study. The progress set to be made at KATRIN represents an important step in that direction. They probe new physics behind neutrinos and their tiny masses.
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