Abstract
The radioactive radium-225 () atom is a favorable case to search for a permanent electric dipole moment. Because of its strong nuclear octupole deformation and large atomic mass, is particularly sensitive to interactions in the nuclear medium that violate both time-reversal symmetry and parity. We have developed a cold-atom technique to study the spin precession of atoms held in an optical dipole trap, and demonstrated the principle of this method by completing the first measurement of its atomic electric dipole moment, reaching an upper limit of (95% confidence).
- Received 3 March 2015
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.233002
© 2015 American Physical Society
Synopsis
Symmetric Radium Atoms
Published 9 June 2015
Researchers have devised a new technique to look for evidence of a permanent electric dipole moment in atoms, which would signal new physics.
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