Abstract
The assessment of neutrino absolute mass scale is still a crucial challenge in today particle physics and cosmology. Beta or electron capture spectrum end-point study is currently the only experimental method which can provide a model-independent measurement of the absolute scale of neutrino mass. HOLMES is an experiment funded by the European Research Council to directly measure the neutrino mass. HOLMES will perform a calorimetric measurement of the energy released in the electron capture decay of the artificial isotope \(^{163}\)Ho. In a calorimetric measurement, the energy released in the decay process is entirely contained into the detector, except for the fraction taken away by the neutrino. This approach eliminates both the issues related to the use of an external source and the systematic uncertainties arising from decays on excited final states. The most suitable detectors for this type of measurement are low-temperature thermal detectors, where all the energy released into an absorber is converted into a temperature increase that can be measured by a sensitive thermometer directly coupled with the absorber. This measurement was originally proposed by De Rujula and Lusignoli (Nucl Phys B 219:277, 1983. https://doi.org/10.1016/0550-3213(83)90642-9), but only in the last decade the technological progress in detectors development has allowed to design a sensitive experiment. HOLMES plans to deploy a large array of low-temperature microcalorimeters with implanted \(^{163}\)Ho nuclei. In this contribution we outline the HOLMES project with its physics reach and technical challenges, along with its status and perspectives.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
V.N. Aseev et al., Phys. Rev. D 84, 112003 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.84.112003
Ch. Kraus, B. Bornschein, L. Bornschein, J. Bonn, B. Flatt et al., Eur. Phys. J. C 40, 447 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s2005-02139-7
Ch. Weinheimer, KATRIN collaboration, Prog. Part. Nucl. Phys. 48, 141 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0146-6410(02)00120-5
A.A. Esfahani et al., J. Phys. G Nucl. Part. Phys. 44, 054004 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6471/aa5b4f
B. Alpert et al., Eur. Phys. J. C 75, 112 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-015-3329-5
L. Gastaldo et al., Eur. Phys. J. Spec. Top. 226, 1623 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjst/e2017-70071-y
M.P. Croce et al., J. Low Temp. Phys. 184, 938 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-016-1595-8
A. Nucciotti, Adv. High Energy Phys. 2016, 9153024 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/9153024
A. de Rújula, M. Lusignoli, Nucl. Phys. B 219, 277 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1016/0550-3213(83)90642-9
C.W. Reich, B. Singh, Nucl. Data Sheets 111, 1211 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nds.2010.04.001
S. Eliseev et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 062501 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.062501
A. Nucciotti, Eur. Phys. J. C 74, 3161 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-014-3161-3
M. Sisti et al., Nucl. Instrum. Methods A 520, 125 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2003.11.273
J.W. Engle et al., Nucl. Instrum. Methods B 311, 131 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2013.06.017
A. Giachero et al., J. Instrum. 12, C02046 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/12/02/C02046
G. Gallucci et al., J. Low Temp. Phys. This Special Issue (2018)
A. Orlando et al., J. Low Temp. Phys., This Special Issue (2018)
J.P. Hays-Wehle et al., J. Low Temp. Phys. 184, 492 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-015-1416-5
M. Faverzani et al., J. Low Temp. Phys. 184, 922 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-016-1540-x
B. Alpert et al., J. Low Temp. Phys. 184, 263 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-015-1402-y
E. Ferri et al., J. Low Temp. Phys. 184, 405 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-015-1466-8
J.A.B. Mates et al., J. Low Temp. Phys., This Special Issue (2018)
D. Decker et al., J. Low Temp. Phys., This Special Issue (2018)
E. Ferri et al., Nucl. Instrum. Methods A 824, 179 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2015.10.019
A. Puiu et al., J. Low Temp. Phys. 184, 45 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-015-1432-5
A. Puiu et al., J. Low Temp. Phys., This Special Issue (2018)
Acknowledgements
The HOLMES experiment is funded by the European Research Council under the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013)/ERC Grant Agreement No. 340321. We also acknowledge support from INFN for the MARE project, from the NIST Innovations in Measurement Science program for the TES detector development, and from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (PTDC/FIS/116719/2010) for providing the enriched Er\(_2\hbox {O}_3\) used in preliminary \(^{163}\)Ho production by means of neutron irradiation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nucciotti, A., Alpert, B., Balata, M. et al. Status of the HOLMES Experiment to Directly Measure the Neutrino Mass. J Low Temp Phys 193, 1137–1145 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-018-2025-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10909-018-2025-x