Non-zero Electric Dipole Moment Research Articles

From Fractional Quantum Anomalous Hall Smectics to Polar Smectic Metals: Nontrivial Interplay Between Electronic Liquid Crystal Order and Topological Order in Correlated Topological Flat Bands.

Symmetry-breaking orders can not only compete with each other, but also be interwined, and the interwined topological and symmetry-breaking orders make the situation more intriguing. This work examines the archetypal correlated flat band model on a checkerboard lattice at filling ν = 2/3 and we find the unique interplay between smectic charge order and topological order gives rise to two novel quantum states. As the interaction strength increases, the system first transitions from a Fermi liquid into FQAH smectic (FQAHS) state, where FQAH topological order coexists cooperatively with smectic charge order with enlarged ground-state degeneracy and interestingly, the Hall conductivity is σxy = ν = 2/3, different from the band-folding or doping scenarios. Further increasing the interaction strength, the system undergoes another quantum phase transition and evolves into a polar smectic metal (PSM) state. This emergent PSM is an anisotropic non-Fermi liquid, whose interstripe tunneling is irrelevant while it is metallic inside each stripe. Different from the FQAHS and conventional smectic orders, this PSM spontaneously breaks the two-fold rotational symmetry, resulting in a nonzero electric dipole moment and ferroelectric order. In addition to the exotic ground states, large-scale numerical simulations are also used to study low-energy excitations and thermodynamic characteristics. We find the onset temperature of the incompressible FQAHS state, which also coincides with the onset of non-polar smectic order, is dictated by the magneto-roton modes. Above this onset temperature, the PSM state exists at intermediate-temperature regime. Although the T = 0 quantum phase transition between PSM and FQAHS is first order, the thermal FQAHS-PSM transition could be continuous. We expect the features of the exotic states and thermal phase transitions could be accessed in future experiments.

Rare isotope-containing diamond colour centres for fundamental symmetry tests.

Detecting a non-zero electric dipole moment in a particle would unambiguously signify physics beyond the Standard Model. A potential pathway towards this is the detection of a nuclear Schiff moment, the magnitude of which is enhanced by the presence of nuclear octupole deformation. However, due to the low production rate of isotopes featuring such 'pear-shaped' nuclei, capturing, detecting and manipulating them efficiently is a crucial prerequisite. Incorporating them into synthetic diamond optical crystals can produce defects with defined, molecule-like structures and isolated electronic states within the diamond band gap, increasing capture efficiency, enabling repeated probing of even a single atom and producing narrow optical linewidths. In this study, we used density functional theory to investigate the formation, structure and electronic properties of crystal defects in diamond containing [Formula: see text], a rare isotope that is predicted to have an exceptionally strong nuclear octupole deformation. In addition, we identified and studied stable lanthanide-containing defects with similar electronic structures as non-radioactive proxies to aid in experimental methods. Our findings hold promise for the existence of such defects and can contribute to the development of a quantum information processing-inspired toolbox of techniques for studying rare isotopes. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Diamond for quantum applications'.

Status of the search for a muon EDM using the frozen-spin technique

Despite the many successes of the Standard Model of particle physics, there are still several physical observations that it cannot explain, such as the matter-antimatter asymmetry, non-zero neutrino masses, and the microscopic nature of dark matter. To address these limitations, extensions to the standard model are necessary, and searches for electric dipole moments (EDMs) of leptons are valuable test. The search for a muon EDM is the only search on a bare lepton of the second generation, complementing the searches for an EDM of the electron using polar molecules. A non-zero EDM of the muon would indicate Charge-Parity symmetry violation beyond the standard model. A dedicated experimental search for the muon EDM is being set up at PSI using the frozen-spin technique. In this technique, the anomalous spin precession of the muons in a storage ring is suppressed by applying an electric field in the radial direction. The muon EDM experiment will take place in two phases: the first phase will demonstrate the frozen-spin technique using a precursor experiment with 28 MeV/c muons, while the second phase will make use of 125 MeV/c muons, which could search for the muon EDM with a sensitivity of 6 × 10-23 e·cm. In this talk, we describe the precursor experiment at PSI and provide an update on the status of the experiment.

Anisotropic motion of an electric dipole in a photon gas near a flat conducting boundary

The quantum Brownian motion of a single neutral particle with nonzero electric dipole moment placed in a photon gas at fixed temperature and close to a conducting wall is here examined. The interaction of the particle with the photon field leads to quantum dispersions of its linear and angular momenta, whose magnitudes depend on the temperature, distance to the wall, and also on the dipole moment characteristics. It is shown that for typical experimental parameters the amount of energy held by the dipole rotation is expressively larger than the one related to the center of mass translation. Furthermore, the particle kinetic energy in presence of a thermal bath can decrease if the wall is added to the system, representing a novel quantum cooling effect where the work done by the quantum vacuum extracts energy from the particle. Finally, possible observable consequences are discussed.

Vanishing or non-vanishing rainbow? Reduction formulas of electric dipole moment

In this paper, we derive a simplified formula of electric dipole moments (EDMs) of a fermion. In the Standard Model, it is well-known that non-trivial cancellations between some rainbow-type diagrams induced by W boson exchanges occur in the calculation of the neutron EDM at the two-loop level due to the gauge symmetry. The fermion self-energy and the vertex correction are related through the Ward-Takahashi identity, and this relation causes the exact cancellation of the EDM. We derive EDM formulas for a more general setup by introducing the form factors for the fermion self-energy and the vertex correction so that the derived formulas can be applicable to a larger class of models. We conclude that the non-zero EDM contributions are induced from rainbow-type diagrams with the chirality flipping effects for internal fermions. We also discuss the other possible generalization of the EDM calculation which is applicable to the other classes of models.

Protein orientation in time-dependent electric fields: orientation before destruction

Proteins often have nonzero electric dipole moments, making them interact with external electric fields and offering a means for controlling their orientation. One application that is known to benefit from orientation control is single-particle imaging with x-ray free-electron lasers, in which diffraction is recorded from proteins in the gas phase to determine their structures. To this point, theoretical investigations into this phenomenon have assumed that the field experienced by the proteins is constant or a perfect step function, whereas any real-world pulse will be smooth. Here, we explore the possibility of orienting gas-phase proteins using time-dependent electric fields. We performed ab initio simulations to estimate the field strength required to break protein bonds, with 45 V/nm as a breaking point value. We then simulated ubiquitin in time-dependent electric fields using classical molecular dynamics. The minimal field strength required for orientation within 10 ns was on the order of 0.5 V/nm. Although high fields can be destructive for the structure, the structures in our simulations were preserved until orientation was achieved regardless of field strength, a principle we denote “orientation before destruction.”

Prospects for Electric Dipole Moment Measurement Using Electrostatic Accelerators

Electrostatic accelerators have played a glorious role in physics, especially for low energy atomic and nuclear physics and electron microscopy. But circular accelerators have depended almost exclusively on the far greater bending force possible with static magnetic, rather than electric, fields. There is a potential exception to this magnetic bending monopoly for experimental high energy elementary particle physics — it is the possibility of measuring the electric dipole moments (EDMs) of charged elementary particles, such as proton, deuteron, or electron, using an electrostatic storage ring. Any such non-zero EDM would demonstrate violation of both parity (P) and time-reversal (T) invariance. One way of understanding the preponderance of matter over anti-matter in the present-day universe pre-supposes the existence of violations of P and T substantially greater than are allowed by the “standard model” of elementary particle physics. This provides the leading motivation for measuring EDMs. Currently, only upper limits are known for these EDMs. The very same smallness that makes it important to determine them makes their measurement difficult. Accepting as obvious the particle physics motivation, this paper concentrates on the accelerator physics of the (not very) high energy electrostatic accelerators needed for EDM measurements. Developments already completed are emphasized. Impressive advances have been made in the diagnostic tools, spin control and polarimetry that will make EDM measurement possible. Ring design for minimizing spin decoherence and limiting systematic EDM errors is presented. There have, however, been worrisome indications from low energy rings, concerning beam current limitations. A prototype ring design is proposed for investigating and addressing this concern.

A magic magnetic field to measure the neutron electric dipole moment

New sources of CP violation beyond the Standard Model of particle physics could be revealed in the laboratory by measuring a non-zero electric dipole moment (EDM) of a spin 1/2 particle such as the neutron. Despite the great sensitivity attained after 60 years of developments, the result of the experiments is still compatible with zero. Still, new experiments have a high discovery potential since they probe new physics at the multi-TeV scale, beyond the reach of direct searches at colliders. Progress in precision on the neutron EDM is limited by a systematic effect arising from the relativistic motional field E→×v→/c2 experienced by the particles moving in the measurement chamber in combination with the residual magnetic gradients. This effect would normally forbid a significant increase of the size of the chamber, sadly hindering the increase of neutron statistics. We propose a new measurement concept to evade this limitation in a room-temperature experiment employing a mercury co-magnetometer. It consists in adjusting the static magnetic field B0 to a “magic” value which cancels the false EDM of the mercury. The magic setting is 7.2μT for a big cylindrical double-chamber of diameter 100 cm.

Searches for Electric Dipole Moments—Overview of Status and New Experimental Efforts

Searches for permanent electric dipole moments (EDMs) of fundamental particles, atoms and molecules are promising experiments to constrain and potentially reveal beyond Standard Model (SM) physics. A non-zero EDM is a direct manifestation of time-reversal (T) violation, and, equivalently, violation of the combined operation of charge-conjugation (C) and parity inversion (P). Identifying new sources of CP violation can help to solve fundamental puzzles of the SM, e.g., the observed baryon-asymmetry in the Universe. Theoretical predictions for magnitudes of EDMs in the SM are many orders of magnitude below current experimental limits. However, many theories beyond the SM require larger EDMs. Experimental results, especially when combined in a global analysis, impose strong constraints on CP violating model parameters. Including an overview of EDM searches, I will focus on the future neutron EDM experiment at TRIUMF (Vancouver). For this effort, the TUCAN (TRIUMF Ultra Cold Advanced Neutron source) collaboration is aiming to build a strong, world leading source of ultra cold neutrons (UCN) based on a unique combination of a spallation target and a superfluid helium UCN converter. Another focus will be the search for an EDM of the diamagnetic atom 129 Xe using a 3 He comagnetometer and SQUID detection. The HeXeEDM collaboration has taken EDM data in 2017 and 2018 in the magnetically shielded room (BMSR-2) at PTB Berlin.

Evidence for a quantum dipole liquid state in an organic quasi-two-dimensional material.

Mott insulators are commonly pictured with electrons localized on lattice sites, with their low-energy degrees of freedom involving spins only. Here, we observe emergent charge degrees of freedom in a molecule-based Mott insulator κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Hg(SCN)2Br, resulting in a quantum dipole liquid state. Electrons localized on molecular dimer lattice sites form electric dipoles that do not order at low temperatures and fluctuate with frequency detected experimentally in our Raman spectroscopy experiments. The heat capacity and Raman scattering response are consistent with a scenario in which the composite spin and electric dipole degrees of freedom remain fluctuating down to the lowest measured temperatures.

Permanent electric dipole moments of single-, two- and three-nucleon systems

A nonzero electric dipole moment (EDM) of the neutron, proton, deuteron or helion, in fact, of any finite system necessarily involves the breaking of a symmetry, either by the presence of external fields (i.e., electric fields leading to the case of induced EDMs) or explicitly by the breaking of the discrete parity and time-reflection symmetries in the case of permanent EDMs. We discuss two theorems describing these phenomena and report about the cosmological motivation for an existence of [Formula: see text] breaking beyond what is generated by the Kobayashi–Maskawa mechanism in the Standard Model and what this might imply for the permanent EDMs of the nucleon and light nuclei by estimating a window of opportunity for physics beyond what is currently known. Recent — and in the case of the deuteron even unpublished — results for the relevant matrix elements of nuclear EDM operators are presented and the relevance for disentangling underlying New Physics sources is discussed.

Gravitational effects on measurements of the muon dipole moments

If the technology for muon storage rings one day permits sensitivity to precession at the order of 10−8 Hz, the local gravitational field of Earth can be a dominant contribution to the precession of the muon, which, if ignored, can fake the signal for a nonzero muon electric dipole moment (EDM). Specifically, the effects of Earth's gravity on the motion of a muon's spin is indistinguishable from it having a nonzero EDM of magnitude dμ∼10−29 ecm in a storage ring with vertical magnetic field of ∼1 T, which is significantly larger than the expected upper limit in the Standard Model, dμ≲10−36 ecm. As a corollary, measurements of Earth's local gravitational field using stored muons would be a unique test to distinguish classical gravity from general relativity with a bonafide quantum mechanical entity, i.e., an elementary particle's spin.

Spin coherence time studies of a horizontally polarized deuteron beam at COSY

The measurement of a non-zero electric dipole moment (EDM) aligned along the spin of sub-atomic particles would probe new physics beyond the standard model. It has been proposed to search for the EDM of charged particles using a storage ring and a longitudinally polarized beam. The EDM signal would be a rotation of the polarization from the horizontal plane toward the vertical direction as a consequence of the radial electric field always present in the particle frame. This experiment requires ring conditions that can ensure a lifetime of the in-plane polarization (spin coherence time, SCT) up to 1000 s. A study has begun at the COoler SYnchrotron (COSY) located at the Forschungszentrum Jülich to examine the effects of emittance and momentum spread on the SCT of a polarized deuteron beam at 0.97 GeV c−1. A special Data AcQuisition has been developed in order to provide a direct measurement of a rapidly rotating horizontal polarization as a function of time. The set of data presented here shows how second-order effects from emittance and momentum spread of the beam affect the lifetime of the horizontal polarization of a bunched beam. It has been demonstrated that sextupole fields can be used to correct for these depolarizing sources and increase the SCT up to hundreds of seconds.

Searching for Topological Defect Dark Matter via Nongravitational Signatures

We propose schemes for the detection of topological defect dark matter using pulsars and other luminous extraterrestrial systems via nongravitational signatures. The dark matter field, which makes up a defect, may interact with standard model particles, including quarks and the photon, resulting in the alteration of their masses. When a topological defect passes through a pulsar, its mass, radius, and internal structure may be altered, resulting in a pulsar "quake." A topological defect may also function as a cosmic dielectric material with a distinctive frequency-dependent index of refraction, which would give rise to the time delay of a periodic extraterrestrial light or radio signal, and the dispersion of a light or radio source in a manner distinct to a gravitational lens. A topological defect passing through Earth may alter Earth's period of rotation and give rise to temporary nonzero electric dipole moments for an electron, proton, neutron, nuclei and atoms.

Order of Magnitude Smaller Limit on the Electric Dipole Moment of the Electron

The Standard Model of particle physics is known to be incomplete. Extensions to the Standard Model, such as weak-scale supersymmetry, posit the existence of new particles and interactions that are asymmetric under time reversal (T) and nearly always predict a small yet potentially measurable electron electric dipole moment (EDM), d(e), in the range of 10(-27) to 10(-30) e·cm. The EDM is an asymmetric charge distribution along the electron spin (S(→)) that is also asymmetric under T. Using the polar molecule thorium monoxide, we measured d(e) = (-2.1 ± 3.7stat ± 2.5syst) × 10(-29) e·cm. This corresponds to an upper limit of |d(e)| < 8.7 × 10(-29) e·cm with 90% confidence, an order of magnitude improvement in sensitivity relative to the previous best limit. Our result constrains T-violating physics at the TeV energy scale.

Development of a SQUID-Based ${}^{3}\hbox{He}$ Co-Magnetometer Readout for a Neutron Electric Dipole Moment Experiment

A discovery of a permanent electric dipole moment (EDM) of the neutron would provide one of the most important low energy tests of the discrete symmetries beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. A new search of neutron EDM, to be conducted at the spallation neutron source (SNS) at ORNL, is designed to improve the present experimental limit of ~10^-26 e-cm by two orders of magnitude. The experiment is based on the magnetic-resonance technique in which polarized neutrons precess at the Larmor frequency when placed in a static magnetic field; a non-zero EDM would be evident as a difference in precession frequency when a strong external electric field is applied parallel vs. anti-parallel to the magnetic field. In addition to its role as neutron spin-analyzer via the spin-dependent n+3He nuclear capture reaction, polarized helium-3 (which has negligible EDM) will serve as co-magnetometer to correct for drifts in the magnetic field. In one of the two methods that will be built into the apparatus, the helium-3 precession signal is read out by SQUID-based gradiometers. We present a design study of a SQUID system suitable for the neutron EDM apparatus, and discuss using very long leads between the pickup loop and the SQUID.

Search for permanent EDM using laser cooled Fr atoms

The existence of a non-zero electric dipole moment (EDM) implies the violation of time reversal symmetry. As the time-reversal symmetry violation predicted by the Standard Model (SM) for the electron EDM is too small to be observed with current experimental techniques and any a non-zero EDM would indicate new physics beyond the SM. The tiny signal from the electron EDM is enhanced in the heavy atoms such as francium (Fr). We are constructing the laser-cooled Fr factory to search for the electron EDM.

Advanced cold molecule electron EDM

Measurement of a non-zero electric dipole moment (EDM) of the electron within a few orders of magnitude of the current best limit of |d_e| < 1.05 e -27 e cm would be an indication of physics beyond the Standard Model. The ACME Collaboration is searching for an electron EDM by performing a precision measurement of electron spin precession in the metastable H state of thorium monoxide (ThO) using a slow, cryogenic beam. We discuss the current status of the experiment. Based on a data set acquired from 14 hours of running time over a period of 2 days, we have achieved a 1-sigma statistical uncertainty of 1 e -28 e cm/T^(1/2), where T is the running time in days.

Electric-dipole-moment searches: Reexamination of frequency shifts for particles in traps

In experiments searching for a nonzero electric dipole moment of trapped particles, frequency shifts correlated with an applied electric field can be interpreted as a false signal. One such effect, referred to as the geometric phase effect, is known to occur in a magnetic field that is nonperfectly homogeneous. The increase in sensitivity of experiments demands improved theoretical description of this effect. In the case of fast particles, like atoms at room temperature and low pressure, the validity of established theories was limited to a cylindrical confinement cell in a uniform gradient with cylindrical symmetry. We develop a more general theory valid for an arbitrary shape of the magnetic field as well as for arbitrary geometry of the confinement cell. Our improved theory is especially relevant for experiments measuring the neutron electric dipole moment with an atomic comagnetometer. In this context, we have reproduced and extended earlier numerical studies of the geometric phase effect induced by localized magnetic impurities.

Search for a permanent EDM using laser cooled radioactive atom

An Electric Dipole Moment (EDM) of the elementary particle is a good prove to observe the phenomena beyond the Standard Model. A non-zero EDM shows the violation of the time reversal symmetry, and under the CPT invariance it means the CP violation. In paramagnetic atoms, an electron EDM results in an atomic EDM enhanced by the factor of the 3rd power of the charge of the nucleus due the relativistic effects. A heaviest alkali element francium (Fr), which is the radioactive atom, has the largest enhancement factor K ∼ 895. Then, we are developing a high intensity laser cooled Fr factory at Cyclotron and Radioisotope Center (CYRIC), Tohoku University to perform the search for the EDM of Fr with the accuracy of 10−29 e · cm. The important points to overcome the current accuracy limit of the EDM are to realize the high intensity Fr source and to reduce the systematic error due to the motional magnetic field and inhomogeneous applied field. To reduce the dominant component of the systematic errors mentioned above, we will confine the Fr atoms in the small region with the Magneto-Optical Trap and optical lattice using the laser cooling and trapping techniques. The construction of the experimental apparatus is making progress, and the new thermal ionizer already produces the Fr of ∼106 ions/s with the primary beam intensity 200 nA. The developments of the laser system and optical equipments are in progress, and the present status and future plan of the experimental project is reported.