{"id":{"repo_id":"temple","oai_identifier":"oai:scholarshare.temple.edu:20.500.12613/11122"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/temple/oai:scholarshare.temple.edu:20.500.12613/11122","repository":{"repo_id":"temple","name":"Temple University","base_url":"https://scholarshare.temple.edu/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The HUNTER Experiment: A precision massive-neutrino search based on a laser-cooled atomic source","abstract":"The HUNTER (Heavy Unseen Neutrinos from Total Energy-momentum Reconstruction) experiment bridges Atomic, Molecular, and Optical (AMO) physics with nuclear physics to search for a long-theorized particle. This elusive particle could provide key insights into the universe's mysteries, including dark matter and baryon asymmetry. The hypothesis of the sterile neutrino emerged from the discovery of neutrino oscillations, where experiments observed a discrepancy between the expected and detected neutrino flux, prompting deeper investigations into the nature of neutrino mass. The leading explanation for the small mass of neutrinos is the `see-saw' mechanism, which proposes that all neutrino flavor eigenstates arise from the mixing of active neutrinos with small masses and (left-) right-handed `sterile' (anti-) neutrinos with large masses. The sterile neutrino is considered a candidate for new physics beyond the Standard Model, and the HUNTER experiment is searching for these neutrinos in the 20-280 keV mass range using high-precision measurements. The HUNTER experiment studies the electron capture decay of laser-cooled, magneto-optically trapped 131-Cs. During decay, 131-Cs produces a 131-Xe ion, X-ray, Auger electrons, and a neutrino. Assuming the 131-Cs was initially at rest, the momenta of all decay products, except the neutrino, will be measured with high-precision detectors. The missing neutrino mass will then be reconstructed using energy-momentum conservation. The thesis will cover the design and testing of the X-ray detector, the simulation of the electron spectrometer coils, and the development of the MOT system and hyperfine experiment.","abstract_html":"The HUNTER (Heavy Unseen Neutrinos from Total Energy-momentum Reconstruction) experiment bridges Atomic, Molecular, and Optical (AMO) physics with nuclear physics to search for a long-theorized particle. This elusive particle could provide key insights into the universe's mysteries, including dark matter and baryon asymmetry. The hypothesis of the sterile neutrino emerged from the discovery of neutrino oscillations, where experiments observed a discrepancy between the expected and detected neutrino flux, prompting deeper investigations into the nature of neutrino mass. The leading explanation for the small mass of neutrinos is the `see-saw' mechanism, which proposes that all neutrino flavor eigenstates arise from the mixing of active neutrinos with small masses and (left-) right-handed `sterile' (anti-) neutrinos with large masses. The sterile neutrino is considered a candidate for new physics beyond the Standard Model, and the HUNTER experiment is searching for these neutrinos in the 20-280 keV mass range using high-precision measurements. The HUNTER experiment studies the electron capture decay of laser-cooled, magneto-optically trapped 131-Cs. During decay, 131-Cs produces a 131-Xe ion, X-ray, Auger electrons, and a neutrino. Assuming the 131-Cs was initially at rest, the momenta of all decay products, except the neutrino, will be measured with high-precision detectors. The missing neutrino mass will then be reconstructed using energy-momentum conservation. The thesis will cover the design and testing of the X-ray detector, the simulation of the electron spectrometer coils, and the development of the MOT system and hyperfine experiment.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Palmaccio, Victoria"],"institution":"Temple University. Libraries","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Surrow, Bernd"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Napolitano, Jim","Constantinou, Martha","Martoff, Charles Jeffrey","ansen Varnum, Susan"],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-05","date_published":"2025-05","updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:21:38Z","subjects":["Physics"],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["IN COPYRIGHT- This Rights Statement can be used for an Item that is in copyright. Using this statement implies that the organization making this Item available has determined that the Item is in copyright and either is the rights-holder, has obtained permission from the rights-holder(s) to make their Work(s) available, or makes the Item available under an exception or limitation to copyright (including Fair Use) that entitles it to make the Item available."],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarshare.temple.edu/handle/20.500.12613/11122","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Surrow, Bernd"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Napolitano, Jim","Constantinou, Martha","Martoff, Charles Jeffrey","ansen Varnum, Susan"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Palmaccio, Victoria"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-07-14T20:16:16Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-07-14T20:16:16Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025-05"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Temple University. 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Using this statement implies that the organization making this Item available has determined that the Item is in copyright and either is the rights-holder, has obtained permission from the rights-holder(s) to make their Work(s) available, or makes the Item available under an exception or limitation to copyright (including Fair Use) that entitles it to make the Item available."]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://scholarshare.temple.edu/handle/20.500.12613/11122"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The HUNTER (Heavy Unseen Neutrinos from Total Energy-momentum Reconstruction) experiment bridges Atomic, Molecular, and Optical (AMO) physics with nuclear physics to search for a long-theorized particle. This elusive particle could provide key insights into the universe's mysteries, including dark matter and baryon asymmetry. The hypothesis of the sterile neutrino emerged from the discovery of neutrino oscillations, where experiments observed a discrepancy between the expected and detected neutrino flux, prompting deeper investigations into the nature of neutrino mass. The leading explanation for the small mass of neutrinos is the `see-saw' mechanism, which proposes that all neutrino flavor eigenstates arise from the mixing of active neutrinos with small masses and (left-) right-handed `sterile' (anti-) neutrinos with large masses. The sterile neutrino is considered a candidate for new physics beyond the Standard Model, and the HUNTER experiment is searching for these neutrinos in the 20-280 keV mass range using high-precision measurements. The HUNTER experiment studies the electron capture decay of laser-cooled, magneto-optically trapped 131-Cs. During decay, 131-Cs produces a 131-Xe ion, X-ray, Auger electrons, and a neutrino. Assuming the 131-Cs was initially at rest, the momenta of all decay products, except the neutrino, will be measured with high-precision detectors. The missing neutrino mass will then be reconstructed using energy-momentum conservation. The thesis will cover the design and testing of the X-ray detector, the simulation of the electron spectrometer coils, and the development of the MOT system and hyperfine experiment."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The HUNTER Experiment: A precision massive-neutrino search based on a laser-cooled atomic source"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Surrow, Bernd"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Napolitano, Jim","Constantinou, Martha","Martoff, Charles Jeffrey","ansen Varnum, Susan"],"dc:creator":["Palmaccio, Victoria"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-07-14T20:16:16Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-07-14T20:16:16Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2025-05"],"dc:description.abstract":["The HUNTER (Heavy Unseen Neutrinos from Total Energy-momentum Reconstruction) experiment bridges Atomic, Molecular, and Optical (AMO) physics with nuclear physics to search for a long-theorized particle. This elusive particle could provide key insights into the universe's mysteries, including dark matter and baryon asymmetry. The hypothesis of the sterile neutrino emerged from the discovery of neutrino oscillations, where experiments observed a discrepancy between the expected and detected neutrino flux, prompting deeper investigations into the nature of neutrino mass. The leading explanation for the small mass of neutrinos is the `see-saw' mechanism, which proposes that all neutrino flavor eigenstates arise from the mixing of active neutrinos with small masses and (left-) right-handed `sterile' (anti-) neutrinos with large masses. The sterile neutrino is considered a candidate for new physics beyond the Standard Model, and the HUNTER experiment is searching for these neutrinos in the 20-280 keV mass range using high-precision measurements. The HUNTER experiment studies the electron capture decay of laser-cooled, magneto-optically trapped 131-Cs. During decay, 131-Cs produces a 131-Xe ion, X-ray, Auger electrons, and a neutrino. Assuming the 131-Cs was initially at rest, the momenta of all decay products, except the neutrino, will be measured with high-precision detectors. The missing neutrino mass will then be reconstructed using energy-momentum conservation. The thesis will cover the design and testing of the X-ray detector, the simulation of the electron spectrometer coils, and the development of the MOT system and hyperfine experiment."],"dc:description.degree":["Ph.D."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://scholarshare.temple.edu/handle/20.500.12613/11122"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:publisher":["Temple University. Libraries"],"dc:rights":["IN COPYRIGHT- This Rights Statement can be used for an Item that is in copyright. Using this statement implies that the organization making this Item available has determined that the Item is in copyright and either is the rights-holder, has obtained permission from the rights-holder(s) to make their Work(s) available, or makes the Item available under an exception or limitation to copyright (including Fair Use) that entitles it to make the Item available."],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["Physics"],"dc:title":["The HUNTER Experiment: A precision massive-neutrino search based on a laser-cooled atomic source"],"dc:type":["Text"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:21:38Z"}