Apker award lecture: The rise and fall of the 17-keV neutrino?
In 1985, J.J. Simpson interpreted a distortion in his measurement of a tritium beta-decay spectrum as evidence for a 17 keV neutrino. Such a neutrino is inconsistent with the current Standard Model and has revoltionary implications for cosmology and astrophysics. Until recently, the experimental situation has been unclear. In general, solid-state detectors confirmed the existence of the heavy neutrino, while magnetic spectrometers found no evidence for it. The past year has seen a flurry of experimental activity, including work the authors have done at Argonne National Laboratory. At the Physics Division of ANL, a search has been made for the effect of a 17 keV neutrino in the beta-decay of {sup 35}S with an apparatus incorporating a high-resolution solid-state detector and a superconducting solenoid. The experimental mixing probability, sin{sup 2}{theta} = {minus}0.0004{+-}0.0008(syst.), is consistent with zero, in disagreement with other solid-state detector results. The sensitivity of this measurement to a heavy neutrino signal is confirmed by measurements with a mixed source of {sup 35}S and {sup 14}C which produces a distortion in the beta spectrum similar to that expected from the massive neutrino. Details of this experiment, and recent developments in the field, will be discussed.
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC03-76SF00098
- OSTI ID:
- 243603
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9304297-; ISSN 0003-0503; TRN: 96:002199-0101
- Journal Information:
- Bulletin of the American Physical Society, Vol. 38, Issue 2; Conference: 1993 joint meeting of the American Physical Society and the American Association of Physics Teachers, Washington, DC (United States), 12-15 Apr 1993; Other Information: PBD: Apr 1993
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Searches for massive neutrino emission in 14C beta and 55Fe electron-capture decays
Beta decay and rhenium cosmochronology