Assessment of molecular effects on neutrino mass measurements from tritium beta decay

The beta decay of molecular tritium currently provides the highest sensitivity in laboratory-based neutrino mass measurements. The upcoming Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment will improve the sensitivity to 0.2 eV, making a percent-level quantitative understanding of molecular effects essential. The modern theoretical calculations available for neutrino-mass experiments agree with spectroscopic data. Moreover, when neutrino-mass experiments performed in the 1980s with gaseous tritium are re-evaluated using these modern calculations, the extracted neutrino mass-squared values are consistent with zero instead of being significantly negative. On the other hand, the calculated molecular final-state branching ratios are in tension with dissociation experiments performed in the 1950s. We re-examine the theory of the final-state spectrum of molecular tritium decay and its effect on the determination of the neutrino mass, with an emphasis on the role of the vibrational- and rotational-state distribution in the ground electronic state. General features can be reproduced quantitatively from considerations of kinematics and zero-point motion. We summarize the status of validation efforts and suggest means for resolving the apparent discrepancy in dissociation rates.