The HUNTER Sterile Neutrino Search Experiment

ORAL

Abstract

The HUNTER experiment (Heavy Unseen Neutrinos from Total Energy-momentum Reconstruction) is a search for sterile neutrinos with masses in the 20-280 keV range. The neutrino missing mass will be reconstructed from 131-Cs electron capture decays occurring in a magneto-optically trapped sample of atoms. Reaction-microscope spectrometers will be used to detect all charged decay products with high solid angle efficiency and LYSO scintillators read out by silicon photomultiplier arrays detect x-rays, each with sufficient resolution to reconstruct the neutrino missing mass. The experiment requires EUHV pressure, very uniform ion extraction electric field and electron confinement magnetic field, large solid angle for x-ray detection, and precision in-situ alignment. Procurement of major components of HUNTER is well underway with some innovative solutions to these requirements.

*We thank the W. M. Keck Foundation and our respective universities for financial support of HUNTER.

–

Authors

  • Charles Martoff

    • Temple Univ. Dept. of Physics

  • Eric Hudson

    • UCLA Dept. of Physics and Astronomy

  • Paul Hamilton

    • UCLA Dept. of Physics and Astronomy

  • Peter Smith

    • UCLA Dept. of Physics and Astronomy

  • Christian Schneider

    • UCLA Dept. of Physics and Astronomy

  • Andrew Renshaw

    • Univ. of Houston Dept. of Physics

  • Peter Meyers

    • Princeton Uni. Dept. of Physics

  • Basu Lamichhane

    • Temple Univ. Dept. of Physics

  • Francesco Granato

    • Temple Univ. Dept. of Physics

  • Xunzhen Yu

    • Temple Univ. Dept. of Physics

  • Eddie Chang

    • UCLA Dept. of Physics and Astronomy

  • Frank Malatino

    • Univ. of Houston Dept. of Physics