Radioactive Atoms and Molecules for Fundamental Physics
Dr. Silviu-Marian Udrescu
Johns Hopkins University
Radioactive atoms and molecules are unique systems that can allow us to investigate physics phenomena within and beyond the Standard Model with unprecedented sensitivity. Radioactive molecules containing octupole-deformed nuclei can be extremely sensitive to violations of the fundamental symmetries of nature, having the potential to answer some of the biggest open questions in physics, such as the origin of the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the Universe and the nature of Dark Matter. In this talk, I will present pioneering results in the study of radioactive molecules obtained from laser spectroscopy experiments performed on short-lived radium monofluoride (RaF) molecules, at the ISOLDE facility at CERN. These measurements allowed us to establish a highly effective laser cooling scheme for RaF and to observe, for the first time, the influence of minuscule electroweak nuclear effects on molecular energy levels. These results opened the way for future precision studies and new physics searches using radioactive molecules. Next, I will present ongoing efforts to develop new experiments to further elucidate how nuclear phenomena emerge from microscopic interactions. I will discuss the status of a novel experiment aiming to measure parity-violating nucleon nucleon electroweak interactions using trapped molecular ions. This method promisesto provide more than twelve orders of magnitude enhancements in sensitivity relative to analogous atomic experiments. Finally, I will present the development of a highly sensitive experimental setup for precision laser spectroscopy studies of atoms containing very short-lived isotopes (lifetime < 100 ms), expected to be produced at existing radioactive beam facilities. Such nuclear systems are of paramount importance to guide our fundamental understanding of atomic nuclei.
Prof. Brodeur