Description
The matter-antimatter asymmetry of the universe suggests that new sources of time-reversal symmetry (T) violation lurk at energy scales beyond the reach of colliders. New particles or T-violating interactions coupled to nucleons can lead to nuclear Schiff moments or magnetic quadrupole moments, which result in measurable energy differences between the spin states of nuclei inside electrically polarized atoms.
Nuclei with the highest intrinsic sensitivity to T-violation (octupolar nuclei) are often short-lived radioactive isotopes. Further, obtaining large atomic polarization typically requires the use of heavy polar molecules that are challenging to cool and trap. Therefore, demanding both enhancement factors -- large intrinsic T-violation sensitivity and large atomic polarization -- usually leads to significant experimental complexity and limited choices for feasible nuclear/molecular candidates. We present a way to evade these constraints and access both the enhancement factors using stable nuclei in a solid.
Our approach uses $^{153}$Eu doped into a crystal, which realizes a large ensemble of octupolar nuclei within strongly polarized atomic ions. This system offers a simple but powerful means to hunt for T-violating physics at PeV-scale energies. We will discuss the details of our approach and our progress towards a pathfinder experiment.
| Presenter name | Harish Ramachandran |
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| How will you attend ICAP-27? | I am planning on in-person attendance |
