title: Single-Electron Detection and Spectroscopy via Relativistic Cyclotron Radiation.
abstract: It has been understood since 1897 that accelerating charges must emit electromagnetic radiation. Although first derived in 1904, cyclotron radiation from a single electron orbiting in a magnetic field has never been observed directly. We demonstrate single-electron detection in a novel radio-frequency spectrometer. The relativistic shift in the cyclotron frequency permits a precise electron energy measurement. Precise beta electron spectroscopy from gaseous radiation sources is a key technique in modern efforts to measure the neutrino mass via the tritium decay end point, and this work demonstrates a fundamentally new approach to precision beta spectroscopy for future neutrino mass experiments.
authors.affiliation: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, USA.
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Asner
authors.affiliation: National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903, USA.
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Bradley
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: de Viveiros
authors.affiliation: Center for Experimental Nuclear Physics and Astrophysics, and Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Doe
authors.affiliation: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, USA.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.affiliation: Center for Experimental Nuclear Physics and Astrophysics, and Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fertl
authors.affiliation: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, USA.
authors.forename: E C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Finn
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Nuclear Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Formaggio
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Nuclear Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Furse
authors.affiliation: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, USA.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Center for Experimental Nuclear Physics and Astrophysics, and Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Kofron
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA.
authors.forename: B H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: LaRoque
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leber
authors.affiliation: Center for Experimental Nuclear Physics and Astrophysics, and Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: McBride
authors.affiliation: Center for Experimental Nuclear Physics and Astrophysics, and Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Nuclear Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mohanmurthy
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Monreal
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Nuclear Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: N S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Oblath
authors.affiliation: Center for Experimental Nuclear Physics and Astrophysics, and Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
authors.forename: R G H
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.affiliation: Center for Experimental Nuclear Physics and Astrophysics, and Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Rosenberg
authors.affiliation: Center for Experimental Nuclear Physics and Astrophysics, and Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rybka
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Nuclear Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rysewyk
authors.affiliation: Center for Experimental Nuclear Physics and Astrophysics, and Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Sternberg
authors.affiliation: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, USA.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Tedeschi
authors.affiliation: Institut für Kernphysik, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Thümmler
authors.affiliation: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, USA.
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: VanDevender
authors.affiliation: Center for Experimental Nuclear Physics and Astrophysics, and Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
authors.forename: N L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Woods