Utilizing Thermal Kinetic Inductance Detectors for next-generation beta decay experiments

Precision measurements of the energy spectrum and angular distribution of the decay products in neutron beta decay can set competitive limits to beyond Standard Model physics. Spectra measurements are sensitive to linearity and stability of the gain, and uncertainty in the modelling of the beta backscattering. Measurements of the angular distribution are impeded by the difficulty in measuring the recoil proton, requiring large external fields to accelerate the particle into a measurable energy range. We are developing Charged-Particle Thermal Kinetic Inductance Detectors (CP-TKIDs). These cryogenic sensors will feature over an order of magnitude improvement in energy resolution compared to silicon detectors, can be easily multiplexed to give high granularity and large coverage, and feature low enough thresholds for direct detection of the recoil proton. We present initial simulations utilizing an array of double layer CP-TKIDs for next generation experiments, highlighting the proton-beta discrimination and backscatter tagging. Finally, we investigate the impact of the improved kinematic reconstruction due to the higher energy resolution and detector granularity.