tritium_endpoint
plain-language theorem explainer
Tritium beta endpoint energy is fixed at 18.6 keV for modeling backgrounds in XENON1T low-energy excess data. Analysts fitting recoil spectra in xenon detectors cite this value when assessing tritium contamination levels around 10^-20. The definition consists of a direct real-number assignment without computation or proof steps.
Claim. The tritium beta-decay endpoint energy equals 18.6 keV.
background
The XENON1T/nT module examines the 2-3 keV electron recoil excess and lists three candidate explanations: tritium background, solar axions, and neutrino magnetic moment. Tritium at natural concentrations supplies the observed rate and spectrum shape, leading to the assessment that background radioactivity accounts for the data with roughly 70 percent probability. This definition supplies the fixed endpoint used in all subsequent tritium rate and spectrum calculations within the module.
proof idea
The definition is a direct numerical assignment of the experimental value 18.6 to the real number representing the tritium beta endpoint.
why it matters
The constant anchors the tritium_rate_matches and tritium_spectrum_peak calculations that support the background-most-likely verdict. It supplies the measured input required for the RS conclusion that no new physics is needed to explain the XENON1T excess. The value closes the experimental loop in the EA-006 analysis without invoking axion couplings or neutrino moments.
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