Measurement of the ^129Xe Atomic Electric Dipole Moment with Spin Exchange Pumped ^129Xe and ^3He Masers
Abstract
Spin exchange pumped noble gas masers have been developed to measure the time reversal violating permanent electric dipole moment (EDM) of ^129Xe with the goal of 10-28 e-cm precision, corresponding to measurement of the Zeeman splitting with precision of 10-9 Hz. Such masers are effected by coupling of the noble gas magnetization (produced through spin exchange with laser optically pumped Rb) to a resonant tank circuit. We have previously demonstrated sufficient precision for a single species, phase locked maser. However, the magnetic dipole contribution to the Zeeman splitting requires magnetometry, particularly because leakage currents lead to possible false EDM signals. Our experiment employs a co-magnetometer -- a ^3He maser in the same cell, because the EDM of ^3He is much less sensitive to the sources of time reversal violation. We have successfully run the two species maser in cells with molybdenum electrodes appropriate for the EDM measurement and are proceeding toward our first measurements with this set-up.
- Publication:
-
APS Division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- May 1996
- Bibcode:
- 1996APS..DMP..WI06R