The KATRIN experiment

Abstract

The KArlsruhe TRitium Neutrino mass experiment, KATRIN, aims to search for the mass of the electron neutrino with a sensitivity of 0.2eV/c2 (90% C.L.) and a detection limit of 0.35 eV/c2 (5σ). Both a positive or a negative result will have far reaching implications for cosmology and the standard model of particle physics and will give new input for astroparticle physics and cosmology. The major components of KATRIN are being set up at the Karlsruhe Institut of Technology in Karlsruhe, Germany, and test measurements of the individual components have started. Data taking with tritium is scheduled to start in 2012. © 2010 IOP Publishing Ltd.