The results of recent neutrino oscillation experiments indicate that the mass of the neutrino is nonzero. The mass hierarchy and the absolute mass scale of the neutrino, however, are unknown. Furthermore, the nature of the neutrino is also unknown; is it a Dirac or Majorana particle, i.e. is the neutrino its own antiparticle? If experiments succeed in observing neutrinoless double-beta decay, there would be evidence that the neutrino is a Majorana particle and that conservation of total lepton number is violated - a situation forbidden by the Standard Model of particle physics. In support of understanding the nature of the neutrino, the first direct double-beta decay Q-value measurement of the neutrinoless double-beta decay candidate 82Se was performed [D. L. Lincoln et al., Physical Review Letters 110, 012501 (2013)]. The measurement was carried out using Penning trap mass spectrometry, which has proven to be the most precise and accurate method for determining atomic masses and therefore, Q-values. The high-precision measurement resulted in a Q-value with nearly an order of magnitude improvement in precision over the literature value. This result is important for the theoretical interpretations of the observations of current and future double-beta decay studies. It is also important for the design of future and next-generation double-beta decay experiments, such as SuperNEMO, which is planned to observe 100 - 200 kg of 82Se for five years.The high-precision measurement was performed at the Low-Energy Beam and Ion Trap (LEBIT) facility located at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL). The LEBIT facility was the first Penning trap mass spectrometry facility to utilize rare isotope beams produced via fast fragmentation and has measured nearly 40 rare isotopes since its commissioning in 2005. To further improve the LEBIT facility's performance, technical improvements to the system are being implemented. As part of this work, to increase the precision of measurements and to maximize the use of beam time, a high-precision magnetometer was developed. The magnetometer will monitor drifts in the LEBIT facility's 9.4 T superconducting magnet to a relative precision on the order of 1 part in 10^8. This will eliminate the need to perform reference measurements during an experiment, thus expanding the LEBIT facility's measurement capabilities and scientific output.
Read
