Speaker
Description
Despite their relative complexity, unstable atomic nuclei are among the best physical systems to search for BSM neutrino physics. In particular, rare isotopes that undergo weak nuclear transitions such as $\beta$ decay, $\beta\beta$ decay, or electron capture (EC) provide a sensitive probe of a wide range of topics including neutrino masses, Majorana nature of neutrinos, and lepton number violating processes. Several of these studies - particularly those on neutrino mass states (both light and heavy) - are able to be performed without any model dependencies in these systems. The experimental tools in these areas are broad, and leverage modern technological advancements in quantum sensing, atom/ion trapping, radioactive background control, and tonne-scale detectors. In this talk, I will describe the power of using weak nuclear decay for neutrino studies, and give examples of ongoing and future experiments that provide unprecedented sensitivity to various BSM physics scenarios.
