Departmental Seminar

Search for symmetry violation at the South Pole

Dr Morgan Hedges
Princeton

Searches for fundamental symmetry violation play an important role in testing current theories of space-time. In our a search we have performed a precision test of spatial isotropy at the Amundsen-Scott station near the geographic South Pole. This location provides the most isotropic location available on Earth. The experiment is a rotating atomic-spin co-magnetometer which compares energy levels of 21Ne and Rubidium atoms as a function of direction. By operating the experiment at the Pole we eliminate the major confounding factor in previous experiments: background signals due to the gyroscopic interactions of spins with Earth's rotation, and diurnal environmental effects. The unique location has allowed us to place several new limits on new physics, including the most stringent restriction to date on Lorentz violation. In addition to describing the experiment and new results, I'll give a brief overview of atomic-spin magnetometry and the research being conducted around it at Princeton

Date & time

Mon 7 Sep 2015, 11am–12pm

Location

Seminar Room

Audience

Staff, students and public welcome

Contact

(02)61254571