NSF Award
2409434
The very successful mathematical description of physical reality called the "Standard Model" is unable to explain and/or is inconsistent with basic features of our universe. The PIs and graduate students seek to solve, or at least provide significant clues to solving, this great mystery so that the Standard Model can be corrected. In the past, a corrected and improved mathematical description generally has led to new devices and methods of the sort that a technological society needs to advance. Quantum methods will be used to determine whether or not the electron charge is spherical – a measurement of the electron's electric dipole moment (eEDM) – at a 30 times improved sensitivity. The junior members of the team will use this demanding research to hone the science and technology skills that will empower them to contribute to STEM science and education throughout their careers. <br/><br/>The huge electric field experienced by a valence electron within a ThO molecule will provide the unprecedented sensitivity. The improvements made using a longer spin precession time and an electrostatic lens should either reveal the eEDM, as predicted by many well motivated models of particle physics that seek to improve the Standard Model, or demonstrate that these models must be unnaturally tuned. EDM measurements are arguably the most promising way to determine whether the new physics in such theories is related to time-reversal violation, which is in turn crucial for understanding the asymmetry between matter and antimatter in the universe. A more sensitive eEDM search is one of the few experiments capable of probing new phenomena at energies well beyond the reach of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). ACME III, proposed here, will be sensitive to a broad class of new physics (sometimes called beyond the Standard Model [BSM] physics) in the 10-100 TeV range. The ACME program bridges a gap between two disciplines in physics: particle physics provides the motivation, while atomic, molecular and optical physics provides the methods.<br/><br/>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.
