Speaker
Description
The Standard Model of particle physics is one of the most successful models of the universe, yet it is known to be incomplete. Substantial efforts on the theoretical front introduce new physics through extensions of the Standard Model. Advances in quantum control of molecules have resulted in some of the most stringent constraints on physics beyond the Standard Model [1-3]. Extensive molecular spectroscopy of $^{232}$ThF$^+$ [4-6] has been motivated by its immense sensitivity to the electron’s electric dipole moment and promised long coherence time [5-8]. Building upon this work, we propose the measurement of the nuclear Schiff moment, a physical quantity that could hint at new physics, on the isotopologue $^{227}$ThF$^+$. Unlike the naturally occurring $^{232}$Th, however, $^{227}$Th has a half-life of about 20 days and is typically made in microscopic quantities. An efficient source of $^{227}$Th must be developed for an experiment with $^{227}$ThF$^+$. Herein, we present our progress on the development of an offline source of $^{227}$Th$^+$ using an argon glow discharge source. This marks the beginning of our more general effort to develop offline ion beams of radionuclides with half-lives on the order of days or longer for new-physics searches, complementing TRIUMF's online radioactive ion beams from ISAC and ARIEL. This approach will enable access to elements such as Th, so far not available via conventional ISOL techniques, over extended time as it is imperative for the development of precision studies in $^{227}$ThF$^+$ and other radioactive molecules.
[1] L. Caldwell, et al. Systematic and statistical uncertainty evaluation of the HfF$^+$ electron electric dipole moment experiment. Physical Review A 108, 012804 (2023).
[2] T. S. Roussy, et al. A new bound on the electron’s electric dipole moment. Science 381, 46-50 (2023).
[3] V. Andreev, et al., Improved limit on the electric dipole moment of the electron, Nature 562, 355 (2018).
[4] Y. Zhou, K. B. Ng, L. Cheng, D. N. Gresh, R. W. Field, J. Ye, and E. A. Cornell, Visible and ultraviolet laser spectroscopy of ThF, Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy 358, 1 (2019).
[5] K. B. Ng, Y. Zhou, L. Cheng, N. Schlossberger, S. Y. Park, T. S. Roussy, L. Caldwell, Y. Shagam, A. J. Vigil, E. A. Cornell, and J. Ye, Spectroscopy on the electron-electric-dipole-moment–sensitive states of ThF+, Physical Review A 105, 022823 (2022).
[6] D. N. Gresh, K. C. Cossel, Y. Zhou, J. Ye, and E. A. Cornell, Broadband velocity modulation spectroscopy of ThF$^+$ for use in a measurement of the electron electric dipole moment, Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy 319, 1 (2016).
[7] Skripnikov, L. V., and A. V. Titov. Theoretical study of ThF$^+$ in the search for T, P-violation effects: Effective state of a Th atom in ThF$^+$ and ThO compounds. Physical Review A 91, 042504 (2015).
[8] Denis et al., Theoretical study on ThF$^+$, a prospective system in search of time-reversal violation. New Journal of Physics 17, 043005 (2015).
| Email address | kbng@triumf.ca |
|---|---|
| Classification | Isotope production, target, and ion source techniques |
