Search

We report on the electrostatic trapping of neutral SrF molecules. The molecules are captured from a cryogenic buffer-gas beam source into the moving traps of a 4.5 m long traveling-wave Stark decelerator. The SrF molecules in $X^2\Sigma^+(v=0, N=1)$ state are brought to rest as the velocity of the moving traps is gradually reduced from 190 m/s to zero. The molecules are held for up to 50 ms in multiple electric traps of the decelerator. The trapped packets have a volume (FWHM) of 1 mm$^{3}$ and a velocity spread of 5(1) m/s which corresponds to a temperature of $60(20)$ mK. Our result demonstrates a factor 3 increase in the molecular mass that has been Stark-decelerated and trapped. Heavy molecules (mass$>$100 amu) offer a highly increased sensitivity to probe physics beyond the Standard Model. This work significantly extends the species of neutral molecules of which slow beams can be created for collision studies, precision measurement and trapping experiments.

Modern experiments on neutron and allowed nuclear $\beta$ decay search for new semileptonic interactions, beyond the ``left-handed'' electroweak force. We show that ongoing and planned $\beta$-decay experiments, with isotopes at rest and in flight, can be exploited as sensitive tests of Lorentz invariance. The variety of correlations that involve the nuclear spin, the direction of the emitted $\beta$ particle, and the recoil direction of the daughter nucleus allow for relatively simple experiments that give direct bounds on Lorentz violation. The pertinent observables are decay-rate asymmetries and their dependence on sidereal time. We discuss the potential of several asymmetries that together cover a large part of the parameter space for Lorentz violation in the gauge sector. High counting statistics is required., Comment: Accepted for publication as a Rapid communication in Phys. Rev. C

Background: There is a renewed experimental interest in antiproton-proton scattering with an intense, possibly polarized antiproton beam. On the theoretical side, significant progress has been made in the understanding of the nuclear force from chiral effective field theory.Purpose: We provide a high-quality model-independent description of the available low-energy antiproton-proton scattering data. Method: We perform a new energy-dependent partial-wave analysis of all antiproton-proton elastic ((p) over barp -> (p) over barp) and charge-exchange ((p) over barp -> (n) over barn) scattering data below 925 MeV/c antiproton laboratory momentum. The Schrodinger equation is solved for the coupled (p) over barp and (n) over barn channels. The relevant long-range parts of the electromagnetic and the one-and two-pion exchange interactions are included exactly. The short-range interactions, including the coupling to the mesonic annihilation channels, are parametrized by a complex boundary condition at a radius of r = 1.2 fm.Results: The updated database, which includes significantly more high-quality charge-exchange data, contains 3749 scattering data. The fit gives chi(2)(min)/N-df = 1.048, where N-df = 3578 is the number of degrees of freedom. We discuss the description of the experimental data and we present the antiproton-proton phase-shift parameters.Conclusions: Chiral effective field theory provides an excellent long-range antinucleon-nucleon interaction. The results of the PWA should serve as the starting point for future theoretical and experimental investigations of low-energy antiproton-proton scattering.

We set up the framework for the calculation of electric dipole moments (EDMs) of light nuclei using the systematic expansion provided by chiral effective field theory (EFT). We take into account parity (P) and timer-reversal (T) violation which, at the quark-gluon level, originates from the QCD vacuum angle and dimension-six operators capturing physics beyond the standard model. We argue that EDMs of light nuclei can be expressed in terms of six low-energy constants that appear in the P- and T-violating nuclear potential and electric current. As examples, we calculate the EDMs of the deuteron, the triton, and (3)He in leading order in the EFT expansion.

We explore the potential of the electric quadrupole transitions 7s {sup 2}S{sub 1/2}-6d {sup 2}D{sub 3/2}, 6d {sup 2}D{sub 5/2} in radium isotopes as single-ion optical frequency standards. The frequency shifts of the clock transitions due to external fields and the corresponding uncertainties are calculated. Several competitive {sup A}Ra{sup +} candidates, with A= 223-229, are identified. In particular, we show that the transition 7s {sup 2}S{sub 1/2} (F=2,m{sub F}=0)-6d {sup 2}D{sub 3/2} (F=0,m{sub F}=0) at 828 nm in {sup 223}Ra{sup +}, with no linear Zeeman and electric quadrupole shifts, stands out as a relatively simple case, which could be exploited as a compact, robust, and low-cost atomic clock operating at a fractional frequency uncertainty of 10{sup -17}. With more experimental effort, the {sup 223,225,226}Ra{sup +} clocks could be pushed to a projected performance reaching the 10{sup -18} level.

We report on a theoretical analysis of the suitability of the 7s (2)S(1/2) 6d (2)D(3/2) transition in singly ionized radium to measure parity nonconservation, in the light of an experiment planned at the KVI of the University of Groningen. Relativistic coupled-cluster theory has been employed to perform an ab initio calculation of the parity-nonconserving electric dipole amplitude of this transition, including single, double, and leading triple excitations. We discuss the prospects for a sub-1% precision test of the electroweak theory of particle physics.

The external-field quantum chromodynamics (QCD) sum rules method is used to evaluate the coupling constants of the vector mesons rho and omega to the nucleon and the Lambda,Sigma, and Xi baryons. It is shown that these coupling constants as calculated from QCD sum rules are consistent with SU(3)-flavor relations. By assuming ideal mixing, this leads to a determination of the F/(F+D) ratio of the vector-meson octet: we find alpha(v)=1 and alpha(m)=0.18 for the vector and the magnetic F/(F+D) ratios, respectively. The sensitivity of the results to the unknown vacuum susceptibility zeta is discussed. The coupling constants with SU(3)-breaking effects taken into account are also calculated.

Two soft-photon amplitudes, the Low amplitude and the two- u-two-t special amplitude, agree with one another in the case of npgamma but disagree significantly in the case of ppgamma. The two- u-two-t special amplitude describes well the available ppgamma cross section data. The relationship between the two amplitudes as well as the reason they agree and disagree is explored. Using these two soft-photon amplitudes plus a one-boson exchange amplitude, the contribution of the proton and neutron anomalous magnetic moments to ppgamma and npgamma has been investigated for projectile energies above 150 MeV and for laboratory scattering angles lying between 8degrees and 35degrees. The anomalous magnetic moment contribution was found to be significant in the ppgamma process but insignificant in the npgamma process. Additional aspects of the bremsstrahlung mechanism are discussed. Our findings play an important role in understanding the similarities and differences between the Low amplitude and the two-u-two-t special amplitude as well as why the two-u-two-t special amplitude calculation agrees well with the available ppgamma cross section data.