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arxiv 1408.5362 v2 pith:TFIXUR4G submitted 2014-08-22 physics.ins-det hep-exnucl-ex

Single electron detection and spectroscopy via relativistic cyclotron radiation

classification physics.ins-det hep-exnucl-ex
keywords radiationcyclotronelectronspectroscopybeenbetadetectionemitted
verification ladder T0 review T1 audit T2 compute T3 formal T4 reserved
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It has been understood since 1897 that accelerating charges must emit electromagnetic radiation. Cyclotron radiation, the particular form of radiation emitted by an electron orbiting in a magnetic field, was first derived in 1904. Despite the simplicity of this concept, and the enormous utility of electron spectroscopy in nuclear and particle physics, single-electron cyclotron radiation has never been observed directly. Here we demonstrate single-electron detection in a novel radiofrequency spec- trometer. We observe the cyclotron radiation emitted by individual magnetically-trapped electrons that are produced with mildly-relativistic energies by a gaseous radioactive source. The relativistic shift in the cyclotron frequency permits a precise electron energy measurement. Precise beta elec- tron spectroscopy from gaseous radiation sources is a key technique in modern efforts to measure the neutrino mass via the tritium decay endpoint, and this work demonstrates a fundamentally new approach to precision beta spectroscopy for future neutrino mass experiments.

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