Precise Atomic Mass Measurements for Neutrino Physics

Matthew Redshaw, Central Michigan University
Wednesday, Jan 18, 10:00 AM - Nuclear Science Seminar
1300 FRIB Laboratory

Abstract:  The discovery of neutrino flavor oscillations has definitively shown that neutrinos have non-zero mass. This result contradicts the Standard Model and has wide ranging implications in fields ranging from particle physics to cosmology. However, important questions remain: What is the absolute neutrino mass scale? Is the neutrino a Majorana or Dirac particle? A number of large-scale experiments are underway or are being developed to attempt to answer these questions. These experiments fall into two categories: direct neutrino mass determination experiments, and searches for neutrinoless double -decay. In this talk I will describe high precision atomic mass measurements with Penning traps to determine -decay Q values for isotopes that are being used in current or planned -decay and neutrino mass determination experiments. I will discuss measurements that have been performed at the NSCL and Argonne National Lab and describe a new Penning trap that we are developing at Central Michigan University.