Light, lighter, neutrinos: KATRIN’s latest result and future perspectives
Physikalisches Kolloquium
| Datum: | 19.01.2026, 14:15 - 16:45 Uhr |
| Kategorie: | Kolloquium |
| Ort: | Hubland Süd, Geb. P1 (Physik), Röntgen-Hörsaal, Online |
| Veranstalter: | Fakultät für Physik und Astronomie |
| Vortragende: | Prof. Dr. Susanne Mertens (Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Heidelberg) |
Am 19. Januar 2026 um 14:15 Uhr findet das nächste Physikalische Kolloquium zum Thema "Light, lighter, neutrinos: KATRIN’s latest result and future perspectives" im Röntgen-Hörsaal des Physikalischen Instituts und online via Zoom statt.
The absolute neutrino mass scale remains one of the most pressing open questions in astroparticle physics. The most direct method to assess the absolute neutrino mass is through the kinematics of single beta decay, where the neutrino mass reveals itself as a tiny spectral distortion near the endpoint. The KATRIN experiment is designed to probe this effect by combining a high-intensity gaseous tritium source with a high-resolution spectrometer. Recently, KATRIN reported a new world-leading upper limit of m < 0.45 eV (90% CL), based on its first five measurement campaigns. In 2026, following the completion of its neutrino mass data-taking phase, KATRIN will upgrade its beamline with a novel detector system known as TRISTAN. This detector will enable measurements of the full tritium beta-decay spectrum, opening the door to searches for keV-scale sterile neutrinos. In this talk, I will present KATRIN’s latest results and outline its future prospects.
Teilnahme
Präsenz im Röntgen-Hörsaal und online.
