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arXiv · 2203.01708

Plutonium-241 as a possible isotope for neutrino mass measurement and capture

Nicolo de Groot
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Abstract

Tritium has been the isotope of choice for measurements of the neutrino mass and planned detection of the relic neutrino background. The low mass of $^{3}$H leads to large recoil energy of the nucleus. This has emerged as a limiting factor for both measurements. We investigate $^{241}$Pu as an alternative. The recoil is 80x smaller and it has similar decay energy and lifetime as $^{3}$H. We evaluate for the first time its soft-neutrino capture cross-section and find $(\sigma v)_{\nu} = 1.52 \times 10^{-45}$. This is 40% of the capture cross-section for tritium and makes $^{241}$Pu an interesting alternative for $^{3}$H.

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Nicolo de Groot. 2022-03-03. Plutonium-241 as a possible isotope for neutrino mass measurement and capture. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6471%2Facc5fc

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