Development of Holmium-163 electron-capture spectroscopy with transition-edge sensors
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO (United States)
- Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)
Calorimetric decay energy spectroscopy of electron-capture-decaying isotopes is a promising method to achieve the sensitivity required for electron neutrino mass measurement. The very low total nuclear decay energy (QEC < 3 keV) and short half-life (4570 years) of 163Ho make it attractive for high-precision electron-capture spectroscopy (ECS) near the kinematic endpoint, where the neutrino momentum goes to zero. In the ECS approach, an electron-capture-decaying isotope is embedded inside a microcalorimeter designed to capture and measure the energy of all the decay radiation except that of the escaping neutrino. We have developed a complete process for proton irradiation-based isotope production, isolation, and purification of 163Ho. We have developed transition-edge sensors for this measurement and methods for incorporating 163Ho into high-resolution microcalorimeters, and have measured the electron-capture spectrum of 163Ho. Finally, we present our work in these areas and discuss the measured spectrum and its comparison to current theory.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC52-06NA25396
- OSTI ID:
- 1334142
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-15-27688
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Low Temperature Physics, Vol. 184, Issue 3-4; ISSN 0022-2291
- Publisher:
- Plenum PressCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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