Most Stringent Bound on Electron Neutrino Mass Obtained with a Scalable Low-Temperature Microcalorimeter Array
The determination of the absolute neutrino mass scale remains a fundamental open question in particle physics, with profound implications for both the standard model and cosmology. Direct kinematic measurements, independent of model-dependent assumptions, provide the most robust approach to address this challenge. Here we present the most stringent upper bound on the effective electron neutrino mass ever obtained with a calorimetric measurement of the electron capture decay of ^{163}Ho. The HOLMES experiment employs an array of ion-implanted transition-edge sensor (TES) microcalorimeters, achieving an average energy resolution of 6 eV FWHM with a scalable, multiplexed readout technique. With a total of 7×10^{7} decay events recorded over two months and a Bayesian statistical analysis, we derive an upper limit of m_{β}<27 eV/c^{2} at 90% credibility. These results validate the feasibility of ^{163}Ho calorimetry for next-generation neutrino mass experiments and demonstrate the potential of a scalable TES-based microcalorimetric technique to push the sensitivity of direct neutrino mass measurements beyond the current state of the art.
Authors
- S. Gamba
- M. De Gerone (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5489-6581)
- E. Maugeri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3773-6375)
- Daniel Becker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6942-8636)
- Rodolfo Carobene (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0579-3017)
- Luca Origo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6342-1430)
- M. Balata
- Zeynep Talip
- E. Ferri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1425-3669)
- Stefano De Nisi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3486-6091)
- D. Schumann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5643-7701)
- G. Gallucci (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3554-9733)
- L. Ferrari Barusso (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9740-7346)
- M. Faverzani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8119-2953)
- P. Manfrinetti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3346-5619)
- D. A. Bennett (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3011-3690)
- Daniel S. Swetz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8192-2175)
- G. Pessina (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3700-9757)
- W. B. Doriese (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1107-6441)
- M. Lusignoli
- F. Gatti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8991-0382)
- Danilo Labranca (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5351-0034)
- Joel N. Ullom (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2486-4025)
- Leila R. Vale (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8561-2580)
- A. Giachero (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0493-695X)
- Joseph W. Fowler
- A. Nucciotti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8458-1556)
- M. Borghesi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5854-8894)
- John A. B. Mates (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5955-8103)
- U. Köster (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5701-3249)
- G. C. O’Neil (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3450-2263)
- C. D. Reintsema (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8505-4638)
- Johnathon D. Gard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4195-9544)
- Bradley K. Alpert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9765-9642)
- D. R. Schmidt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5764-0194)
- P Campana (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8271-242X)
- Marco Gobbo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5543-9190)
- Roberto Moretti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5201-5920)
- S. Ragazzi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8219-2074)
Institutions
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (US)
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (IT)
- Paul Scherrer Institute (CH)
- University of Colorado System (US)
- Institut Laue-Langevin (FR)
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Genova (IT)
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Milano Bicocca (IT)
- University of Milano-Bicocca (IT)
- University of Genoa (IT)
- Sapienza University of Rome (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical Review Letters
- Published
- 2025-09-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/s9vl-7n24
- Citations
- 8
- Primary Topic
- Neutrino Physics Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 14.96