Search for the electron edm using Cs and Rb in 1D optical lattice traps

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This experimental research program is a new project to search for a non-zero electron electric dipole moment (eEDM) using ultracold cesium and rubidium atoms in one-dimensional optical (1D) lattice traps. Atoms will be loaded into a pair of parallel 1D far-off-resonant optical lattice traps in a magnetically shielded region of space. Their EDMs will be measured by observing their coherent evolution in electric fields that are directed oppositely in the two traps. The projected sensitivity is three parts in ten to the 30th, a 500-fold improvement over the current limit. Systematic errors can be kept at or below this statistical sensitivity. A particle with a permanent edm implies that both time-reversal (T) invariance and parity (P) invariance are violated. Both of these symmetries are violated in the standard model of physics, but at very small levels. Observation of a non-zero eEDM at the sensitivity of this experiment would provide definitive evidence for phenomena beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. Currently favored theories involving supersymmetry typically predict an electron EDM within a few orders of magnitude of the current limit. Continued non-observation of eEDMs would place stringent limits on extensions to the Standard Model. The broader impact of the program is student training of undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows.