Search

We present the first polarized neutron transmission image of a model Ne\'el ferrimagnetic material, polycrystalline terbium iron garnet (Tb$_{3}$Fe$_{5}$O$_{12}$, TbIG for short), as it is taken through its compensation temperature $T_{comp}$ where, according to the theory of ferrimagnetism, the internal magnetization should vanish. Our polarized neutron imaging data and the additional supporting measurements using neutron spin echo spectroscopy and SQUID magnetometry are all consistent with a vanishing internal magnetization at $T_{comp}$., Comment: 15 pages, 15 figures

Fundamental neutron physics, combining precision measurements and theory, probes particle physics at short range with reach well beyond the highest energies probed by the LHC. Significant US efforts are underway that will probe BSM CP violation with orders of magnitude more sensitivity, provide new data on the Cabibbo anomaly, more precisely measure the neutron lifetime and decay, and explore hadronic parity violation. World-leading results from the US Fundamental Neutron Physics community since the last Long Range Plan, include the world's most precise measurement of the neutron lifetime from UCN$\tau$, the final results on the beta-asymmetry from UCNA and new results on hadronic parity violation from the NPDGamma and n-${^3}$He runs at the FNPB (Fundamental Neutron Physics Beamline), precision measurement of the radiative neutron decay mode and n-${}^4$He at NIST. US leadership and discovery potential are ensured by the development of new high-impact experiments including BL3, Nab, LANL nEDM and nEDM@SNS. On the theory side, the last few years have seen results for the neutron EDM from the QCD $\theta$ term, a factor of two reduction in the uncertainty for inner radiative corrections in beta-decay which impacts CKM unitarity, and progress on {\it ab initio} calculations of nuclear structure for medium-mass and heavy nuclei which can eventually improve the connection between nuclear and nucleon EDMs. In order to maintain this exciting program and capitalize on past investments while also pursuing new ideas and building US leadership in new areas, the Fundamental Neutron Physics community has identified a number of priorities and opportunities for our sub-field covering the time-frame of the last Long Range Plan (LRP) under development. This white paper elaborates on these priorities., Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2304.03451

We report an experimental search for an exotic spin-spin-velocity-dependent interaction between polarized electrons of Rb atoms and polarized electrons of a solid-state mass, violating both the time-reversal and parity symmetries. This search targets a minute effective magnetic field induced by the interaction. A spin-exchange relaxation-free (SERF) magnetometer based on an optically polarized Rb vapor is the key element for both a source of polarized electrons and a high-sensitivity detector. A dysprosium iron garnet (DyIG) serves as the polarized mass, with an extremely small magnetization at the critical temperature around 240 K and a high spin density. To reduce the magnetization, one of major systematic effects, a home-built cooling system controls the mass temperature. To our knowledge, this is the first search for an exotic spin-dependent interaction using the compensated ferrimagnet DyIG as a polarized mass. The experiment set the most stringent limit on the electron-electron coupling strength in the centimeter interaction range, in particular $g_V^e g_V^e <10^{4}$ at $\lambda=2$ cm.

The axion is a hypothesized particle appearing in various theories beyond the Standard Model. It is a light spin-0 boson initially postulated to solve the strong CP problem and is also a strong candidate for dark matter. If the axion or an axion-like particle exists, it would mediate a P-odd and T-odd spin-dependent interaction. We describe two experiments under development at Indiana University-Bloomington to search for such an interaction., Comment: Presented at the Eighth Meeting on CPT and Lorentz Symmetry, Bloomington, Indiana, May 12-16, 2019

Precision measurements of the inverse-square law via experiments on short-range gravity provide sensitive tests of Lorentz symmetry. A combined analysis of data from experiments at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology and Indiana University sets simultaneous limits on all 22 coefficients for Lorentz violation correcting the Newton force law as the inverse sixth power of distance. Results are consistent with no effect at the level of $10^{-12}$ m$^{4}$., Comment: 7 pages two-column REVTeX, accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters

The Axion Resonant InterAction Detection Experiment (ARIADNE) is a collaborative effort to search for the QCD axion using techniques based on nuclear magnetic resonance. In the experiment, axions or axion-like particles would mediate short-range spin-dependent interactions between a laser-polarized 3He gas and a rotating (unpolarized) tungsten source mass, acting as a tiny, fictitious "magnetic field". The experiment has the potential to probe deep within the theoretically interesting regime for the QCD axion in the mass range of 0.1-10 meV, independently of cosmological assumptions. The experiment relies on a stable rotary mechanism and superconducting magnetic shielding, required to screen the 3He sample from ordinary magnetic noise. Progress on testing the stability of the rotary mechanism is reported, and the design for the superconducting shielding is discussed., Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Proceedings of the 2nd Axion Cavity and Detector Workshop

Various theories beyond the Standard Model predict new particles with masses in the sub-eV range with very weak couplings to ordinary matter which can possess spin-dependent couplings to electrons and nucleons. Present laboratory constraints on exotic spin-dependent interactions with pseudoscalar and axial couplings for exchange boson masses between meV and eV are very poor compared to constraints on spin-independent interactions in the same mass range arising from spin-0 and spin-1 boson exchange. It is therefore interesting to analyze in a general way how one can use the strong experimental bounds on spin-independent interactions to also constrain spin-dependent interactions by considering higher-order exchange processes. The exchange of a pair of bosons between two fermions with spin-dependent couplings will possess contributions which flip spins twice and thereby generate a polarization-independent interaction energy which can add coherently between two unpolarized objects. In this paper we derive the dominant long-range contributions to the interaction energy between two nonrelativistic spin-1/2 Dirac fermions from double exchange of spin-0 and spin-1 bosons proportional to couplings of the form $g_P^{4}$, $g_S^{2}g_P^{2}$, and $g_V^{2}g_A^{2}$. Our results for $g_P^{4}$ are in agreement with previous calculations that have appeared in the literature. We demonstrate the usefulness of this analysis to constrain spin-dependent couplings by presenting the results of a reanalysis of data from a short-range gravity experiment to derive an improved constraint on $(g^N_{P})^2$, the pseudoscalar coupling for nucleons, in the range between $40$ and $200~\mu$m of about a factor of 5 compared to previous limits. The spin-independent contribution from 2-boson exchange with axial-vector couplings requires special treatment and will be explored in another paper., Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures

Present laboratory limits on the coupling strength of anomalous pseudoscalar and axial interactions are many orders of magnitude weaker than their scalar and vector analogs. Here we investigate two mechanisms which can circumvent this suppression and thereby lead to improved limits., Comment: Presented at the Seventh Meeting on CPT and Lorentz Symmetry, Bloomington, Indiana, June 20-24, 2016

Short-range experiments testing the gravitational inverse-square law at the submillimeter scale offer uniquely sensitive probes of Lorentz invariance. A combined analysis of results from the short-range gravity experiments HUST-2015, HUST-2011, IU-2012, and IU-2002 permits the first independent measurements of the 14 nonrelativistic coefficients for Lorentz violation in the pure-gravity sector at the level of $10^{-9}$ m$^2$, improving by an order of magnitude the sensitivity to numerous types of Lorentz violation involving quadratic curvature derivatives and curvature couplings., Comment: 5 pages two-column REVTeX, accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters

We describe a proposed experimental search for exotic spin-coupled interactions using a solid-state paramagnetic insulator. The experiment is sensitive to the net magnetization induced by the exotic interaction between the unpaired insulator electrons with a dense, non-magnetic mass in close proximity. An existing experiment has been used to set limits on the electric dipole moment of the electron by probing the magnetization induced in a cryogenic gadolinium gallium garnet sample on application of a strong electric field. With suitable additions, including a movable source mass, this experiment can be used to explore "monopole-dipole" forces on polarized electrons with unique or unprecedented sensitivity. The solid-state, non-magnetic construction, combined with the low-noise conditions and extremely sensitive magnetometry available at cryogenic temperatures could lead to a sensitivity over ten orders of magnitude greater than exiting limits in the range below 1 mm., Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, REVTeX 4.1, minor corrections

A search for sidereal variations in the force between two planar tungsten oscillators separated by about 80 microns sets the first experimental limits on Lorentz violation involving quadratic couplings of the Riemann curvature, consistent with no effect at the level of $10^{-7}$ m$^2$., Comment: 13 pages

Planar, double-torsional oscillators are especially suitable for short-range macroscopic force search experiments, since they can be operated at the limit of instrumental thermal noise. As a study of this limit, we report a measurement of the noise kinetic energy of a polycrystalline tungsten oscillator in thermal equilibrium at room temperature. The fluctuations of the oscillator in a high-Q torsional mode with a resonance frequency near 1 kHz are detected with capacitive transducers coupled to a sensitive differential amplifier. The electronic processing is calibrated by means of a known electrostatic force and input from a finite element model. The measured average kinetic energy is in agreement with the expected value of 1/2 kT., Comment: 28 pages, 10 figures, new title, additional references and discussion of force sensitivity, minor corrections

A study of the possible interactions between fermions assuming only rotational invariance has revealed 15 forms for the potential involving the fermion spins. We review the experimental constraints on unobserved macroscopic, spin-dependent interactions between electrons in the range below 1 cm. An existing experiment, using 1 kHz mechanical oscillators as test masses, has been used to constrain mass-coupled forces in this range. With suitable modifications, including spin-polarized test masses, this experiment can be used to explore all 15 possible spin-dependent interactions between electrons in this range with unprecedented sensitivity. Samples of ferrimagnetic dysprosium iron garnet have been fabricated in the suitable test mass geometry and shown to have high spin density with very low intrinsic magnetism., Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, REVTeX 4.1, new title, additional authors, now with experimental results on polarized test masses