The Search for the Permanent Electric Dipole Moment of ^199Hg
Abstract
We will report on the search for the permanent electric dipole moment (EDM) of ^199Hg. The discovery of a measurable EDM would imply a new source of CP violation, and the upper bounds on such moments set by current experiments provide useful constraints on supersymmetry and other theories that extend the standard model. The present limit on the EDM of ^199Hg is |d(^199 Hg)| < 2.1 × 10-28 e cm.footnote M. V. Romalis, W. C. Griffith, J. P. Jacobs, and E. N. Fortson, Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 2505 (2001). In that work, two quartz vapor cells containing polarized Hg vapor were placed in parallel magnetic and anti-parallel electric fields, and the spin precession frequencies were determined using an optical technique. An improved version of that experiment incorporates two additional Hg vapor cells that have no applied electric field. The new cells serve as an additional check on systematic effects, and help cancel noise due to magnetic field gradient fluctuations. We will discuss noise sources and the most important systematics. Our present efforts are focused on understanding the origin of a significant systematic effect that has led to spurious EDM-like signals. Current results will be presented.
- Publication:
-
APS Division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- May 2004
- Bibcode:
- 2004APS..DMP.J1049S