The neutrino mass experiment KATRIN

Abstract

The KArlsruhe TRItium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment is a large-scale experiment with the objective to determine the effective electron anti-neutrino mass with an unprecedented sensitivity of 0.2 eV/c2 at 90% C.L. in a model-independent way. The measurement method is based on precision β-decay spectroscopy of molecular tritium. The experimental setup consists of a high luminosity windowless gaseous tritium source, a magnetic electron transport system with differential and cryogenic pumping for tritium retention, and an electro-static spectrometer section for energy analysis, followed by a segmented detector system for counting transmitted β-electrons. The experiment was constructed at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany and is currently in the final commissioning phase before the commencement of tritium operation. This proceedings will give an overview of the KATRIN experiment and its current status. Furthermore, initial results of recent commissioning measurements of the completed KATRIN beamline will be presented.