Description:

Abstract: Theories attempting to explain the prevalence of matter over antimatter often introduce “new,” yet-unobserved particles with CP-violating interactions. This can lead to observable effects in ordinary matter, such as electric dipole moments (EDMs) of fundamental particles. Precision searches for these EDMs using polar molecules have flourished over recent decades. Our group has recently proposed that diatomic molecules built from one coinage-metal (Cu, Ag, and Au) and one carbon-group atom (C, Si, Ge, Sn, and Pb) are highly sensitive to the electron EDM. Moreover, these molecules are predicted to be amenable to optical cycling, possess parity-doubled and magnetically-insensitive ground states, and have viable pathways for production at ultracold temperatures. In this talk, I will first discuss experimental studies of AuC that largely validate our predictions. I will then turn to the molecules CuPb, AgPb, and AuPb, which appear to be especially promising platforms for future EDM searches.

Speaker: Ben Augenbraun, Williams College

Host: Gerald Gabrielse

Keywords: CFP, Physics