Göttingen 2025 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik

T 39: Neutrino Physics IV

T 39.4: Vortrag

Dienstag, 1. April 2025, 17:00–17:15, VG 3.104

Simulating the atomic beam source for Project 8 experiment : from dissociation to cooling — •Aya El Boustani¹ and Sebastian Böser² for the Project 8 collaboration — ¹Institute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany — ²Institute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany

The Project 8 experiment aims to determine the absolute neutrino mass using Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy (CRES) to measure the radiation emitted by tritium beta-decay electrons near the spectrum's endpoint, where the neutrino mass effect is most significant. Achieving the desired sensitivity requires an atomic tritium source with well-characterized beam properties. In the test setup at JGU Mainz, molecular hydrogen serves as a non-radioactive tritium analog and is dissociated using a tungsten capillary heated to approximately 2300 K. The dissociated gas undergoes a multi-stage cooling process to bring the atomic beam's temperature down to 8 K. This process is critical to allow the trapping of atoms at later stages of the experiment while minimizing recombination. For this study, simulations were carried out to investigate the atomic source and the accommodator, which serves as the first cooling stage. Using the SPARTA framework, gas flow within the heated tungsten capillary was modeled to characterize atomic beam formation, quantify dissociation efficiency, and evaluate the resulting beam properties. Additional analyses of the accommodator are conducted to assess the effects of surface geometry and gas-surface dynamics on cooling efficiency and overall beam characteristics.

Keywords: neutrino mass; atomic tritium; project 8; Simulation; CRES