High-precision Penning-trap mass spectrometry for neutrino physics

After several decades of a dramatic development Penning-trap mass spectrometry now demonstrates unprecedented precision and sensitivity in measurements of the masses of a broad range of nuclides for various aspects of fundamental physics. This article reviews one facet of such mass measurements-a contribution of Penning-trap mass spectrometry to experiments on studies of neutrinos. These studies encompass the determination of the neutrino mass, the search for sterile and relic neutrinos and the search for neutrinoless double electron capture in order to determine the type of neutrinos as well as to check the conservation law of the total lepton number.