Sensitivity of neutrino mass experiments to the cosmic neutrino background

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Abstract

The KATRIN neutrino experiment is a next-generation tritium beta decay experiment aimed at measuring the mass of the electron neutrino to better than 200 meV at 90% C.L. Because of its intense tritium source, KATRIN can also serve as a possible target for the process of neutrino capture, ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{e}+^{3}\mathrm{H}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}^{3}\mathrm{He}^{+}+{e}^{\ensuremath{-}}$. The latter process, possessing no energy threshold, is sensitive to the cosmic neutrino background ($\mathrm{C}\ensuremath{\nu}\mathrm{B}$). In this paper, we explore the potential sensitivity of the KATRIN experiment to the relic neutrino density. The KATRIN experiment is sensitive to a $\mathrm{C}\ensuremath{\nu}\mathrm{B}$ overdensity ratio of $2.0\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{9}$ over standard concordance model predictions (at 90% C.L.), addressing the validity of certain speculative cosmological models.

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