The 27th International Conference on Atomic Physics

Prospects for Constraints on Nanometer-Range Non-Newtonian Gravity with a State-of-the-art Molecular Clock

20 Jul 2022, 17:00

1h 30m

Hart House (Hart House)

Poster presentation Precision measurement and tests of fundamental physics Poster session

Description

Ultracold molecules are a powerful platform for metrology, precision measurements and searches for new, beyond-the-Standard-Model physics. In particular, Sr${}_2$, thanks to its simple structure, insensitivity to external fields and narrow optical transitions, provides an excellent testbed for the search for new interactions. Here, we present a detailed characterisation of our ${}^{88}$Sr${}_2$ molecular clock for a vibrational transition spanning the entire depth of the ground state potential. We control systematic shifts at the ${10}^{-14}$ level and perform absolute frequency measurements at the ${10}^{-13}$ level, limited by GPS-based time transfer infrastructure. We discuss prospects to use strontium isotopologues to place improved constraints on new mass-dependent forces, including possible pathways toward the production of ultracold ${}^{86}$Sr${}_2$ and ${}^{84}$Sr${}_2$ dimers and spectroscopy of clock lines in these species.