We discuss the consequences of the quantum uncertainty on the spectrum of the electron emitted by the 𝛽-processes of a tritium atom bound to a graphene sheet. We analyze quantitatively the issue recently raised by Cheipesh, Cheianov, and Boyarsky [Phys. Rev. D 104, 116004 (2021)], and discuss the relevant timescales and the degrees of freedom that can contribute to the intrinsic spread in the electron energy. We perform careful calculations of the potential between tritium and graphene with different coverages and geometries. With this at hand, we propose possible avenues to mitigate the effect of the quantum uncertainty.
Details
Title
Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle in the PTOLEMY project: A theory update
Author
Apponi, A. : INFN Sezione di Roma Betti, M. G. : INFN Sezione di Roma Borghesi, M. : INFN Sezione di Milano-Bicocca Boyarsky, A. : Universiteit Leiden Canci, N. : INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso Cavoto, G. : INFN Sezione di Roma Chang, C. : University of Chicago Cheianov, V. : Universiteit Leiden Cheipesh, Y. : Universiteit Leiden Chung, W. : Princeton University Cocco, A. G. : INFN Sezione Di Napoli Colijn, A. P. : University of Amsterdam D'Ambrosio, N. : Argonne National Laboratory de Groot, N. : Radboud University Esposito, A. : Institute for Advanced Study : (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4318-1003) Faverzani, M. : INFN Sezione di Milano-Bicocca Ferella, A. : INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso Ferri, E. : INFN Sezione di Milano-Bicocca Ficcadenti, L. : INFN Sezione di Roma Frederico, T. : Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica Kahn, Y. : University of Chicago
Funding Information
U.S. Department of Energy, DE-SC0009988 University of Pisa, PRA—Progetti di Ricerca di Ateneo, PRA 2020-2021 92 European Union, Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, 881603-Graphene Core3 Fundaçao de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo, 2017/05660-0 Fundaçao de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo, 2019/07767-1 Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, 308486/2015-3 Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, 464898/2014-5 FETPROACT LESGO, 952068 Italian University and Research Ministry, Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca, MONSTRE-2D PRIN2017 KFMJ8E Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca, Dipartimento di Eccellenza, CUP:B81I18001170001 Italian Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca, “NAT-NET: Neutrino and Astroparticle Theory Network”, 2017W4HA7S
Notes
Due to the large number of authors, only the first 20 and the University of Chicago authors are included on the above author list. Please download the article for the complete list of authors.