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Updated: Jan 6, 2026

Setting Limits on Supersymmetry Using Simplified Models
Published on: November 15, 2013
Most Stringent Bound on Electron Neutrino Mass Obtained with a Scalable Low-Temperature Microcalorimeter Array
B K Alpert1, M Balata2, D T Becker3
1National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Boulder, Colorado, USA.
Abstract:
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.
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