Gerald Gwinner, University of Manitoba
Fundamental symmetry tests with cooled atoms: From Lorentz invariance to parity
Argonne Physics Division Colloquium - 10 May 2013
11:00 AM, Building 203 auditorium

Tests of fundamental symmetries greatly benefit from the unrivaled precision of atomic physics measurements, in particular with cooled atoms and ions, and as a result numerous best limits on `new physics' beyond the Standard Model are set by atomic physics experiments. I will present a test of Lorentz invariance via the most precise measurement of relativistic time dilation using laser spectroscopy with electron-cooled Li+ ions in heavy-ion storage rings (1). In addition, I will discuss progress towards an atomic parity violation experiment with laser-cooled and trapped francium atoms at the radioactive beam facility ISAC at TRIUMF in Vancouver.

(1) Reinhardt et al., Nature Physics 3, 861 (2007), Novotny et al., Physical Review A 80, 022107 (2009)

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