Expectations for a new calorimetric neutrino mass experiment

A large calorimetric neutrino mass experiment using thermal detectors is expected to play a crucial role in the challenge for directly assessing the neutrino mass. We discuss and compare here two approaches to the estimation of the experimental sensitivity of such an experiment. The first method uses an analytic formulation and allows to readily obtain a sensible estimate over a wide range of experimental configurations. The second method is based on a frequentist Monte Carlo technique and is more precise and reliable. The Monte Carlo approach is then exploited to study the main sources of systematic uncertainties peculiar to calorimetric experiments. Finally, the tools are applied to investigate the optimal experimental configuration for a calorimetric experiment with rhenium based thermal detectors. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier B.V.