The HUNTER Sterile Neutrino Search Experiment: 131-Cs Magneto-Optical Trap Development

POSTER

Abstract

The HUNTER experiment (Heavy Unseen Neutrinos by Total Energy-Momentum Reconstruction) is a search for sterile neutrinos with masses in the keV range. The neutrino missing mass will be reconstructed from 131-Cs electron capture decays occurring in a magneto-optically trapped (MOT) sample. Reaction-microscope spectrometers will detect all charged decay products with high solid angle efficiency, and fast scintillators read out by silicon photomultiplier arrays will detect x-rays, each with sufficient resolution to reconstruct the neutrino missing mass. The short half-life of about 9.5 d of 131-Cs paired with the requirement to run the experiment continuously for order one year to obtain the target sensitivity present special challenges for the MOT. The 131-Cs MOT will be actively controlled to meet the runtime requirement, and an efficient orthotropic oven has been developed especially for the source material.

*We thank the W. M. Keck Foundation and our respective universities for financial support of HUNTER.

Presenters

  • Eddie Chang

    • University of California, Los Angeles

Authors

  • Eddie Chang

    • University of California, Los Angeles

  • C J Martoff

    • Temple University

  • Eric R Hudson

    • University of California, Los Angeles
    • UCLA

  • Paul Hamilton

    • University of California, Los Angeles

  • Peter Smith

    • University of California, Los Angeles

  • Christian Schneider

    • University of California, Los Angeles

  • Andrew L Renshaw

    • University of Houston

  • Peter D Meyers

    • Princeton University

  • Basu Lamichhane

    • Grand Valley State University

  • Francesco Granato

    • Temple University

  • Xunzhen Yu

    • Temple University

  • Frank Malatino

    • University of Houston

  • Victoria M Palmaccio

    • Temple University