Search for a permanent EDM using laser cooled radioactive atom

¹ Cyclotron and Radioisotope Center, Tohoku University, Miyagi 980-8578, Japan
² Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan
³ Department of Physics, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo 192-0397, Japan
⁴ Department of Applied Physics, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan
⁵ Research Center for Nuclear Physics, Osaka University, Osaka 567-0047, Japan
⁶ Advanced Science Research Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Ibaraki 319-1184, Japan
⁷ Department of Physics, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
⁸ Department of Physics, Tohoku University, Miyagi 980-8578, Japan
⁹ Department of Physics, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan

^a e-mail: kawamura@cyric.tohoku.ac.jp
^b Present address: Progress Technologies Inc.
^c Present address: Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
^d Present address: Tokyo Institute of Technology

Published online: 20 March 2014

Abstract

The search for the electric-dipole moment (EDM) of laser-cooled francium (Fr) atoms could lead to a measurement for the electron EDM. It is predicted that the electron EDM would be enhanced by approximately three orders of magnitude in heavy atoms such as Fr. Laser-cooling and trapping techniques are expected to suppress statistical and systematic errors in precision measurements. The magneto-optical trap was achieved using stable rubidium in a developing factory of laser-cooled radioactive atoms. In light of the results from the rubidium experiments, we found that an upgrade of each apparatus is preferred for Fr trapping.