New Technologies for Control and Measurement of Polyatomic Molecules

Citation

Patel, Ashay Naren (2025) New Technologies for Control and Measurement of Polyatomic Molecules. Dissertation (Ph.D.), California Institute of Technology. doi:10.7907/t325-5m25. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechTHESIS:05252025-030520663

Abstract

The Standard Model of particle physics has tremendous explanatory power, and while cosmological evidence assures us that it is incomplete, we have never observed a convincing signature of its violation in a laboratory setting. Extensions of the Standard Model proposed to solve one or more of the theory's open questions generically allow for violation of fundamental, discrete symmetries such as CP symmetry, and cosmological processes such as baryogenesis point to CP violation as a fundamental ingredient of our cosmos. Searches for a permanent electric dipole moment (EDM) of the electron inside polar molecules are sensitive probes of new CP violating physics, and these experiments have constrained new CP violating physics to beyond energy scales that are directly accessed at the Large Hadron Collider. EDM experiments with polar molecules are typically limited in sensitivity by either molecule number or coherence time. An electron EDM experiment in ultracold, trapped polyatomic molecules promises to extend the new physics reach by many orders of magnitude, but there are a number of major technical challenges with these experiments, including molecular beam deceleration and high-resolution spectroscopy of cold, free radicals. This thesis reports the development of new technologies and methods for control and measurement of polyatomic molecules in support of next-generation EDM measurements.

Thesis Files