Candidate molecular ions for an electron electric dipole moment experiment
- Department of Physics, JILA, National Institute of Standards and Technology and University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0440 (United States)
This paper is a theoretical work in support of a newly proposed experiment [R. Stutz and E. Cornell, Bull. Am. Soc. Phys. 89, 76 (2004)] that promises greater sensitivity to measurements of the electron's electric dipole moment (EDM) based on the trapping of molecular ions. Such an experiment requires the choice of a suitable molecule that is both experimentally feasible and possesses an expectation of a reasonable EDM signal. We find that the molecular ions PtH{sup +} and HfH{sup +} are both suitable candidates in their low-lying {sup 3}{delta} states. In particular, we anticipate that the effective electric fields generated inside these molecules are approximately 73 and -17 GV/cm, respectively. As a byproduct of this discussion, we also explain how to make estimates of the size of the effective electric field acting in a molecule, using commercially available nonrelativistic molecular structure software.
- OSTI ID:
- 20787436
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review. A, Vol. 73, Issue 6; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.73.062108; (c) 2006 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1050-2947
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Theoretical study of thorium monoxide for the electron electric dipole moment search: Electronic properties of H{sup 3}Δ{sub 1} in ThO
Electron electric-dipole-moment searches based on alkali-metal- or alkaline-earth-metal-bearing molecules