Molecules trapped in ice: a new platform for electric dipole moment searches?

by Amar Vutha (University of Toronto)

Tuesday 8 Mar 2022, 16:15 → 17:15 Europe/Zurich

CERN

The electric dipole moment of the electron (eEDM) is an observable that indicates new physics beyond the Standard Model that violates time-reversal symmetry. It is widely believed that such new physics is needed to explain the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the universe. Experimental searches for the eEDM typically use molecules as amplifiers to enhance the observable effects, and require cold and trapped molecules so that their electrons can be measured for a long time. But traditional ways to cool and trap atoms (using lasers or EM fields) are not easy to adapt to molecules, which motivates looking for other alternatives.

I will give a gentle introduction to this field and present a Canadian-winter-inspired approach to eEDM measurements that we are exploring in my lab.