Development of a Silicon Drift Detector Array to Search for keV-scale Sterile Neutrinos with the KATRIN Experiment

TL;DR

This paper discusses the development and testing of a silicon drift detector array, TRISTAN, designed for the KATRIN experiment to detect keV-scale sterile neutrinos via spectral distortions in beta decay.

Contribution

It introduces the TRISTAN detector module and evaluates its spectroscopic performance as a key component for sterile neutrino searches in KATRIN.

Findings

TRISTAN detector achieves high energy resolution

The detector demonstrates stable and linear response

Noise performance meets experimental requirements

Abstract

Sterile neutrinos in the keV mass range present a viable candidate for dark matter. They can be detected through single $\beta$ decay, where they cause small spectral distortions. The Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment aims to search for keV-scale sterile neutrinos with high sensitivity. To achieve this, the KATRIN beamline will be equipped with a novel multi-pixel silicon drift detector focal plane array named TRISTAN. In this study, we present the performance of a TRISTAN detector module, a component of the eventual 9-module system. Our investigation encompasses spectroscopic aspects such as noise performance, energy resolution, linearity, and stability.