Antenna Simulation and Validation for the Project 8 neutrino mass experiment

The Project 8 experiment aims to directly measure the neutrino mass down to ∼40 meV/c² by reconstructing the kinematics of tritium beta decay, using a novel technique called Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy (CRES). The operating principle is to put tritium in a uniform magnetic field, causing the emitted electron to undergo cyclotron motion and radiate. Measuring the electron’s radiation frequency yields its energy, and the energy spectrum constrains the mass of the neutrino involved in the decay. This method has been demonstrated in a small waveguide, but must be scaled to a larger volume to improve neutrino mass sensitivity. One of our proposed detection schemes involves an array of antennas viewing trapped electrons inside an MRI magnet. Detection is challenging because a single electron emits <1 fW at ∼26 GHz in a 1 T field, and exhibits complex spectral features due to its motion. This talk will describe the simulation of the source and receivers, as well as experimental validations of the technique.