The KATRIN spectrometer officially starts measuring

At the German Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe (KIT), the KATRIN spectrometer (KARrsruhe TRItium Neutrino experiment) is officially launched on Monday, June 11, 2018.

Its aim is to measure the rest mass of the elementary particle - neutrino, which is nonzero, according to the discovery of neutrinos oscillations. Electron spectroscopy group of the NPI Nuclear Spectroscopy Department participated in this project from beginning, and (in cooperation with the NPI Departments of Radiopharmaceuticals and Accelerators) developed two types of radioactive monoenergetic electron sources.

You can watch the event at webcast.kit.edu/102.php: Inauguration Session, 11: 00-12: 30, T. Kajita and A. McDonald, Nobel Prize bearers for discovery of neutrino oscillations, Speakers of KATRIN C. Weinheimer and G. Drexlin, as well as H. Robertson, one of the prominent predecessors of neutrino mass measurement (Symposium, 14: 00-16: 00).

We will keep you informed about further progress of the project as well as the contributions of NPI scientists.

The third generation of experimental physicists is striving to measure neutrinos, KATRIN is supposed to lead to a 10-fold increase in the sensitivity of the measurement. KATRIN is the largest electron spectrometer with a molecular tritium source - the entire device is 70m long. To achieve full sensitivity, KATRIN needs five years of measurement.