CAREER: Search for CP-Violating Hadronic Physics Beyond the Standard Model with Polyatomic Molecules

宇宙中物质的起源是一个谜。根据所有已知的物理定律，存在的物质和反物质应该是等量的。然而，科学家们还没有发现任何大的反物质团块，比如反恒星或反行星。解释这种不对称的一种方法可能涉及粒子物理学标准模型无法描述的新粒子和力。为了解释宇宙中物质对反物质的不对称性，假设的力可能违反一些基本的对称性，如电荷共轭(C)、宇称(P)或时间反转(T)对称性。但同样的力也会导致电子、核子和电磁场之间的其他“禁止”相互作用，这可能会被敏感的实验室实验检测到。由于极性分子的内部电磁场非常大，这些效应在极性分子中被显著放大。用现代的量子技术寻找这些效应，可以“桌面”搜索新粒子和力的证据。这可以通过开辟新的、未被探索的基础物理学领域来促进科学的进步。该项目将在多原子173YbOH分子中寻找核磁四极矩（MQM）。MQM是一种违反cp的电磁矩，可以存在于自旋为1/2的原子核中，并且在四极形变原子核（如173Yb）中得到增强。MQM将产生于诸如违反cp的核力、夸克edm等来源，使其成为标准模型之外许多强子源的敏感探测器。多原子分子是精密测量的强大平台，因为它们通常可以实现全极化和内部共磁状态，而不会干扰激光冷却。这是其他系统中不具备的功能组合。该团队将进行分子束自旋进动测量，以寻找核MQM，同时开发这个精密测量的新平台，这将在许多受益于分子量子控制的系统中有用。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The origin of matter in the universe is a mystery. According to all known physical laws, there should be equal amounts of matter and anti-matter in existence. However, scientists have not found any large clumps of anti-matter such as anti-stars or anti-planets. One way to explain this asymmetry may involve new particles and forces that are not described by the Standard Model of particle physics. The hypothesized forces could violate some fundamental symmetries such as Charge conjugation (C), Parity (P), or Time reversal (T) symmetry in order to explain the matter to anti-matter asymmetry in the universe. But these same forces would cause other "forbidden" interactions between electrons, nucleons and electromagnetic fields, which may be detected by sensitive laboratory experiments. These effects are significantly amplified in polar molecules due to their very large internal electromagnetic fields. Searching for these effects with modern, quantum techniques enables "tabletop" searches for evidence of new particles and forces. This can promote the progress of science by opening up new, unexplored areas of fundamental physics.This project will search for a nuclear magnetic quadrupole moment (MQM) in polyatomic 173YbOH molecules. The MQM is a CP-violating electromagnetic moment that can exist in nuclei with spin I1/2, and is enhanced in quadrupole deformed nuclei such as 173Yb. The MQM would arise from sources such as CP-violating nuclear forces, quark EDMs, and more, making it a sensitive probe for many hadronic sources beyond the Standard Model. Polyatomic molecules are a powerful platform for precision measurement since they generically enable full polarization and internal co-magnetometer states without interfering with laser cooling. This is a combination of features not available in other systems. This team will perform a molecular beam spin precession measurement to search for a nuclear MQM while simultaneously developing this new platform for precision measurements, which will be useful in the many systems that benefit from quantum control in molecules.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.