Improved tests of Lorentz and CPT symmetry using noble gas and hydrogen masers

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This experimental research program is aimed at performing improved tests of Lorentz and CPT symmetry of the neutron and the proton using a noble gas (129Xe/3He) Zeeman maser and a hydrogen maser, respectively. In the proposed three-year program the PI will optimize the performance of the upgraded 129Xe/3He and hydrogen masers; perform long-term monitoring (more than one year) of maser (i.e., spin precession) frequencies; characterize possible systematic effects; and analyze and present the results of these measurements. The expected result of this study is unprecedented sensitivity to possible effects of quantum gravity such as an anisotropy or non-commutativity of space-time, and to the coupling of neutrons and protons to a time-varying cosmological scalar field, which is a leading candidate for dark energy. The broader impact of the program involves student education as well as applications, including MRI at low magnetic fields of hyperpolarized noble gas inhaled into human lungs for studies of basic pulmonary physiology and diseases such as asthma and emphysema.