journal of physics: conference series2017Vol. 888pp. 12072-
236
slezák2017journalgaseous83mkr
Abstract
The gaseous 83mKr electron source is currently used in neutrino mass experiments KATRIN and Project 8, dark matter experiments XENON, LUX and DarkSide, and ALICE (CERN) experiment. The main attractive features of this radioactive noble gas are its monoenergetic conversion electrons with well known energies and a half-life of 1.8 h, which is short enough to avoid any long-lasting contamination of the system. The long half-life of the mother 83Rb isotope (T1/2 = 86.2 d) enables more time demanding measurement. Particularly, in the neutrino mass experiments with gaseous tritium in which the 83mKr is applied in the same manner as the tritium, the K-32 conversion electrons with energy conveniently close to the beta spectrum endpoint represent an important test and calibration tool. Here, the design and characteristics of the gaseous 83mKr generator, including the 83mKr source itself, for KATRIN (KArlsruhe TRItium Neutrino) experiment are presented.