Toward laser cooling of radium-containing molecules

ORAL

Abstract

Octupole-deformed nuclei amplify symmetry violating nuclear properties by several orders of magnitude compared to spherical nuclei [1]. Specifically, radium-containing molecules such as RaF and RaOH offer exceptional opportunities to explore fundamental physics beyond the standard model, while possessing a relatively simple electronic structure that is favorable for laser cooling [2,3]. This combination opens the door to sensitive molecular searches for P,T violating nuclear effects, such as the nuclear Schiff moment. In this talk, I will present the progress on building an experiment to demonstrate laser cooling of radium-containing molecules (RaF and RaOH), in collaboration with MIT, Harvard, Caltech, and the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB).

1. Arriwsmith-Kron, G., et al. “Opportunities for fundamental physics research with radioactive molecules.” Rep. Prog. Phys. 87 084301 (2024).

2. Udrescu, S.-M., Wilkins, S.G., et al. "Precision spectroscopy and laser-cooling scheme of a radium-containing molecule." Nature Physics 20, 202 (2024).

3. Garcia Ruiz, R.F., et al. "Spectroscopy of short-lived radioactive molecules." Nature 581, 396 (2020).

*Department of Energy, Office of Science Nuclear Physics under the grants DE-SC0021176 and DE-SC0021179S. H. and S. M. A. acknowledge support of the SLOAN foundationA. J. acknowledges support of MPS-Ascend Fellowship 2402254S. E. acknowledges support of MIT Pappalardo postdoctoral fellowship

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Presenters

  • Sepehr Ebadi

    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University
    • Harvard University

Authors

  • Sepehr Ebadi

    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University
    • Harvard University

  • Arian Jadbabaie

    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University

  • Matteo R Fulghieri

    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University

  • Jose M Munoz Arias

    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University

  • Shafinul Haque

    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Toronto

  • Samuel Munoz

    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Universidad EIA

  • Karina Khusainova

    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Vanderbilt University

  • John M Doyle

    • Harvard University

  • Nicholas R Hutzler

    • California Institute of Technology

  • Ronald Fernando F Garcia Ruiz

    • MIT Laboratory for Nuclear Science
    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology