Walter Pettus
Indiana University, IN·Physics
Neutrinos are among the most abundant particles in the universe, yet their mass is still unknown. That mass matters at every scale, from how cosmic structure formed to the basic nature of particles.
- Fields
Physics
- Topics
neutrino mass
neutrinos
tritium beta decay
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jul 2027
What they work on
- Scale Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy (CRES), which measures electron energy from emitted radio waves, toward a multi-cubic-meter tritium experiment by leading control systems for Project 8 demonstrator apparatuses.
- Infer neutrino mass without model dependence by precisely measuring the highest-energy electrons from tritium beta decay in Project 8.
- Improve background rejection in the search for neutrinoless double beta decay with germanium-76 detectors in Majorana Demonstrator and LEGEND-200, using pulse shape analysis of detector signals.
More about the research
The lab pursues two complementary experiments on this question. One aims to measure neutrino mass directly. The other asks whether neutrinos are their own antiparticles. Both push the limits of detector technology.
Why it matters
Learning the neutrino's mass and whether it is its own antiparticle would answer basic questions about particle physics and how the structure of the universe formed. This is fundamental science. The detector methods developed, such as scalable cyclotron radiation spectroscopy and background rejection, could inform future precision physics experiments.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Jonathan Engel
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC·Physics
Compute nuclear matrix elements for neutrinoless double-beta decay in experimentally used isotopes, using three ab initio nuclear-structure methods that build nuclei from their protons and neutrons.
Erin Peters
University of Kentucky, KY·Physics
Study nuclear structure relevant to neutrinoless double-beta decay using inelastic scattering of fast, single-energy neutrons from the University of Kentucky accelerator and measuring the emitted gamma rays.
Janet Conrad
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA·Physics
Develop beam diagnostics, instruments that measure the particle beam, for a full-scale central-region prototype of the high-current IsoDAR cyclotron.
The school
Indiana University: 21 labs on PI Pages, $897M a year on research, 438 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
A start for your email. Fill in the brackets.