Quantum Institute: Visitor Schedule

The Quantum Lunch is regularly held on Thursdays in the Theoretical Division Conference Room, TA-3, Building 123, Room 121.
For more information, contact Diego Dalvit.

November 8 , 2007
Thursday, 12:30 PM to 2 PM
T-DO Conference Room, TA-3-123-121

Fang Fang ,
Penn State University

Progress Toward a Measurement of the Electric Dipole Moment of the Electron using Ultra-cold Atoms

Abstract

I'll talk about the progress towards an experiment to measure the electric dipole moment (EDM) of the electron. We are setting up an experiment to search for the EDM of the electron using Cs and Rb atoms trapped in two identical, 1D optical lattice with a projected sensitivity of 3?10-30 e-cm, a 500-fold improvement over the state-of-the-art. We have demonstrated the launching of Cs atoms from a Magneto-Optical Trap (MOT) to the center of a science chamber for the EDM measurement while guided by an optical lattice with a transport efficiency of up to 50% over a distance of 90cm. The optical lattice is made of a 2-m long build-up cavity and provides a transverse guide for the atoms before they are stopped by an optical molasses and trapped in the lattice. The lattice can be loaded with multiple launches to accumulate more atoms and spread out over 10 cm. The preliminary testing results of electric plates charging and analysis of our system noise and systematic errors are presented.