SYNCA: A Synthetic Cyclotron Antenna for the Project 8 Collaboration

TL;DR

This paper introduces SYNCA, a synthetic antenna designed to emulate cyclotron radiation for the Project 8 neutrino experiment, enabling validation of signal detection and reconstruction methods in CRES-based neutrino mass measurements.

Contribution

The paper presents the design, construction, and characterization of SYNCA, a novel antenna that produces realistic cyclotron-like radiation for testing CRES detection techniques.

Findings

SYNCA emits radiation closely matching true cyclotron signals.

The antenna enables effective testing of digital beamforming reconstruction.

Results confirm SYNCA's utility in validating CRES detection methods.

Abstract

Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy (CRES) is a technique for measuring the kinetic energy of charged particles through a precision measurement of the frequency of the cyclotron radiation generated by the particle's motion in a magnetic field. The Project 8 collaboration is developing a next-generation neutrino mass measurement experiment based on CRES. One approach is to use a phased antenna array, which surrounds a volume of tritium gas, to detect and measure the cyclotron radiation of the resulting $\beta$-decay electrons. To validate the feasibility of this method, Project 8 has designed a test stand to benchmark the performance of an antenna array at reconstructing signals that mimic those of genuine CRES events. To generate synthetic CRES events, a novel probe antenna has been developed, which emits radiation with characteristics similar to the cyclotron radiation produced by charged particles in magnetic fields. This paper outlines the design, construction, and characterization of this Synthetic Cyclotron Antenna (SYNCA). Furthermore, we perform a series of measurements that use the SYNCA to test the position reconstruction capabilities of the digital beamforming reconstruction technique. We find that the SYNCA produces radiation with characteristics closely matching those expected for cyclotron radiation and reproduces experimentally the phenomenology of digital beamforming simulations of true CRES signals.