Magnetic Traps for Neutrons and Electrons to Test the Standard Model

Various extensions to the Standard Model of Particle Physics have been developed to explain the non-zero masses of neutrinos or to address the neutron lifetime puzzle. In both fields, magnetic traps for charged and neutral particles can provide suitable environments for high precision measurements. The Project 8 collaboration has recently demonstrated Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy (CRES) as a frequency-based technology to determine the kinetic energy of single decay electrons trapped in a magnetic bottle. This new approach opens up an avenue towards an improved measurement of the absolute neutrino mass scale through a precision study of the decay spectrum of atomic tritium around its endpoint region (Q = 18:6 keV). I will discuss the collaboration’s recent progress to measure for the first time the decay spectrum of molecular tritium using CRES.

The ƬSPECT experiment at the TRIGA reactor facility of JGU Mainz stores ultra-cold neutrons in a fully magnetic bottle to determine the free neutron lifetime. The concept of fully-magnetic storage with spin-flip loading is employed to avoid contact of neutrons with any physical storage container wall. I will report on first results from the ongoing commissioning phase of the experiment.