Weighting the Neutrino with KATRIN - Latest Results and Future Prospects
Prof. Dr. Kathrin Valerius (KIT)

The mass of neutrinos is a fundamental open question in physics, impacting both the
Standard Model of elementary particles and cosmology. Precision measurements of weak
decay kinematics offer a laboratory-based, model-independent method to probe the absolute
neutrino mass scale. The KArlsruhe TRItium Neutrino experiment (KATRIN) seeks to detect
the subtle imprint of the neutrino mass in the endpoint region of the tritium beta-decay
spectrum. Combining a high-intensity gaseous molecular tritium source with a high-resolution
electrostatic filter using magnetic adiabatic collimation, KATRIN has set the most stringent
direct neutrino-mass limit at m(ν) < 0.8 eV/c2 (90% C.L.) based on an initial data set. Ongoing
data collection and analysis aim for a sensitivity below 0.3 eV/c2. Additionally, KATRIN’s
precision beta-spectrum data facilitates searches for new physics beyond the neutrino mass,
including sterile neutrinos, Lorentz invariance violation, and non-standard weak interactions.
This talk presents the latest results and future prospects of the experiment.