Bound-state beta-decay and kinematic search for neutrino mass

The underlying discussions and the writing of a first draft of this paper took place in 1982 during an exciting two-week stay of Solly Cohen at AT&T Bell Laboratories. His enthusiasm for fundamental physics and innovative experimentation encouraged discussions on many interesting problems, of which the present subject and paper are representative. This is the last physics paper bearing Solly's name. It is perhaps fitting that, in this work, Solly returned to the subject of bound-state β-decay on which he wrote one of his first papers, thirty years earlier in 1951. We miss Solly as a wise colleague, teacher and friend.

Abstract

A new method involving Doppler spectroscopy with laser techniques is proposed to observe bound-state β-decay of tritium. This process, although theoretically expected to occur, has not yet been observed. The proposed method is, in principle, capable of exposing a finite mass of the neutrino. The low source temperatures and laser spectroscopic resolution necessary for a neutrino mass measurement, although extremely difficult to achieve, appear accessible with conceivable advances of these techniques.