Thursday, March 12, 2025, 16:00
WBGB/019
Jaideep Singh, Michigan State University
Abstract:
Experimental tests of fundamental symmetries using nuclei and other particles
subject to the strong nuclear force have led to the discovery of parity (P)
violation and the discovery of charge-parity (CP) violation. It is believed
that additional sources of CP-violation may be needed to explain the apparent
scarcity of antimatter in the observable universe. A particularly sensitive and
unambiguous signature of time-reversal-(T), parity-, and CP-violation (via the
CPT theorem) would be the existence of an electric dipole moment (EDM). The
next generation of EDM searches in a variety of complimentary systems
(neutrons, atoms, and molecules) will have unprecedented sensitivity to physics
beyond the Standard Model.
This talk will focus on current and planned experiments that use rare isotopes with pear-shaped nuclei. This uncommon nuclear structure significantly amplifies the observable effect of symmetry violations originating within the nuclear medium when compared to isotopes with relatively undeformed nuclei such as Mercury-199. Certain isotopes of Radium (Ra) and Protactinium (Pa) are both expected to have greatly enhanced sensitivity to symmetry violations and will be produced in abundance at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams currently operating at Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI, USA.
I will describe the current status of the ongoing search for the
atomic EDM of Ra using laser cooling and trapping techniques,
plans to calibrate the new physics sensitivity of Pa-229,
and the prospects for next generation searches for time-reversal violation
using cold molecules in beam, traps, and solids
as well as atomic ions in cryogenic solids such as diamonds.