Neutrino Properties Studied with a Triton Source Using Large TPC Detectors

Abstract

The purpose of the present paper is to study the neutrino properties as they may appear in the low energy neutrinos emitted in triton decay, with maximum neutrino energy of 18.6 KeV. The technical challenges to this end can be summarized as building a very large TPC capable of detecting low energy recoils, down to a few 100 eV, within the required low background constraints. More specifically We propose the development of a spherical gaseous TPC of about 10-m in radius and a 200 Mcurie triton source in the center of curvature. One can list a number of exciting studies, concerning fundamental physics issues, that could be made using a large volume TPC and low energy antineutrinos:1) The oscillation length involving the small mixing angle in the electronic neutrino disappearancei experiment is comparable to the length of the detector. Measuring the counting rate of neutrino-electron elastic scattering will give a precise measurement of the oscillation parameters free of systematic errors. First estimations show that a sensitivity of a few percent for the measurement of the above angle. 2) The low energy detection threshold offers a unique sensitivity for the neutrino magnetic moment which is about two orders of magnitude beyond the current experimental limit. 3) Scattering at such low neutrino energies has never been studied and any departure from the expected behavior may be an indication of new physics beyond the standard model. We present results of theoretical calculation and studies of possible measurements.