Colloquium: Dr. Gerald Gwinner
Department of Physics & Astronomy University of Manitoba Winnipeg, MBFundamental Symmetry Tests with Cooled Atoms: From Lorentz Invariance to Parity
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.
(1) Reinhardt et al., Nature Physics 3, 861 (2007), Novotny et al., Physical Review A 80, 022107 (2009)