Speaker
Description
The possible existence of additional heavy or right-handed (sterile) neutrino states remains a key window onto physics beyond the Standard Model. Heavy neutrinos in the keV mass range are particularly compelling as potential dark-matter candidates. Establishing or ruling out the existence of heavy neutrinos in this region of parameter space would represent a major milestone, with the potential to reshape our understanding of neutrino physics and the origin of dark matter. We present a new approach to search for keV-scale heavy neutrinos by leveraging recent advances in quantum sensing and optically levitated nanoparticles. The experiment uses a highly sensitive laser optical readout to measure the tiny recoil momenta imparted by tritium beta decays to nanoparticles confined in a radio-frequency trap. In this poster, we describe the experimental concept, motivate and quantify the main design choices, and outline the key technical challenges. We then present results from Geant4-based and COMSOL simulations used to estimate the expected signal and background rates and to project the resulting sensitivity to keV-scale neutrino masses. We conclude with an overview of the ongoing R&D program and a roadmap toward a first experimental demonstrator, including projected sensitivity across the relevant heavy-neutrino parameter space and its comparison with existing constraints.
This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under contract DE-AC52 07NA27344.