A broad-Band FT-ICR Penning TRap System for KATRIN

TL;DR

This paper presents a prototype Fourier-Transform Ion-Cyclotron-Resonance Penning trap system designed for the KATRIN experiment to monitor ion cluster abundances, aiming to reduce systematic uncertainties in neutrino mass measurements.

Contribution

It introduces a broad-band FT-ICR Penning trap system specifically developed for KATRIN to measure ion species abundances with high precision.

Findings

Successful construction and testing of the prototype system

Effective measurement of ion cluster abundances using FT-ICR technique

Potential for integration into KATRIN to improve systematic uncertainty control

Abstract

The KArlsruhe TRItium Neutrino experiment KATRIN aims at improving the upper limit of the mass of the electron antineutrino to about 0.2 eV (90% c.l.) by investigating the beta-decay of tritium gas molecules. The experiment is currently under construction to start first data taking in 2012. One source of systematic uncertainties in the KATRIN experiment is the formation of ion clusters when tritium decays and decay products interact with residual tritium molecules. It is essential to monitor the abundances of these clusters since they have different final state energies than tritium ions. For this purpose, a prototype of a cylindrical Penning trap has been constructed and tested at the Max-Planck-Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, which will be installed in the KATRIN beam line. This system employs the technique of Fourier-Transform Ion-Cyclotron-Resonance in order to measure the abundances of the different stored ion species.