The quest for neutrino mass and sterile neutrinos: recent results from the KATRIN experiment

by Andrea Nava (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare)

Monday 4 May 2026, 14:30 → 16:00 Europe/Rome

Aula Conversi (Dipartimento di Fisica)

The absolute value of the neutrino mass is one of the known missing pieces of the Standard Model. Its determination is of paramount importance for both particle physics and cosmology. 

The Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment, featuring a ultra-high activity source and a high-resolution electrostatic filter, has the potential to perform a direct search of the neutrino mass with unprecendented sensitivity. 

Moreover, KATRIN can also probe several Beyond Standard Model extensions, in a complementary way comparing to other existing experiments (e.g. oscillation experiments). One of these possibilities is the search of eV-scale sterile neutrinos, often invoked to explain anomalies observed in short-baseline oscillation experiments.

In this talk, the KATRIN working principle, as well as the latest results regarding the neutrino mass and eV sterile neutrinos will be presented.