Towards measurements of symmetry-violating nuclear properties using single molecular ions in a Penning trap

This contribution presents the ongoing development of a novel Penning ion trap for precision studies of single molecular ions. The strong magnetic fields of the Penning trap can be used to bring opposite-parity molecular states of trapped particles into near degeneracy. This phenomenon can be used to enhance the sensitivity to measure electroweak nuclear properties by more than 11 orders of magnitude compared to atomic systems [Altuntas, E. et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 142501 (2018)]. These so-far unknown properties are, on the one hand, critical in the understanding of the nuclear force and structure of the nuclei but also provide precise low-energy tests of the standard model of particle physics and the violation of fundamental symmetries. I will present our current developments for this tabletop-sized setup as well as plans for future studies of radioactive molecules.