25–29 Aug 2025
Monona Terrace
US/Central timezone

Directly determine the electron-neutrino mass with sub-eV sensitivity by the decay of 159Dy

27 Aug 2025, 12:20
20m
Room H

Room H

Neutrino Sector Parallel

Speaker

Prof. Yuekun Heng (Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Description

The measurement of neutrino mass represents a long-standing major scientific challenge, carrying profound significance for both particle physics and astrophysics. The energy spectra of β-decay or electron capture (EC) in radioactive nuclides can be employed to directly measure neutrino mass. Isotopes with low decay energy are particularly advantageous for enhancing the sensitivity of neutrino mass measurements due to the significantly enhanced decay rate in the endpoint region of the decay energy spectrum. The EC decay process of 159Dy to 159Tb exhibits an ultra low decay energy. This paper proposes using superconducting detectors to study the decay energy spectrum of this process, expecting to achieve a direct measurement of the electron-neutrino mass with sub-eV sensitivity at a 90% confidence level.

Author

Dr Ying Fu (Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Co-author

Prof. Yuekun Heng (Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Presentation materials