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Quantum and Semiclassical Optics Journal of the European Optical Society Part B

Magnetometer based on atomic coherence and possible application to the search for P and T violating permanent electric dipole moments of atoms

Michael Fleischhauer, Marlan O. Scully

Published Jun 1, 1995• 11 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A new approach to the experimental search for P and T violating permanent electric dipole moments (EDMs) in atoms is proposed. The high dispersion of a phase coherent atomic medium at a point of electromagnetically induced transparency is used to detect linear Stark-shifts associated with an atomic EDM in a highly sensitive interferometric measurement. Possible noise sources are analysed and estimates are given for the device sensitivity.

DOI
10.1088/1355-5111/7/3/008

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A new approach to the experimental search for P and T violating permanent electric dipole moments (EDMs) in atoms is proposed. The high dispersion of a phase coherent atomic medium at a point of electromagnetically induced transparency is used to detect linear Stark-shifts associated with an atomic EDM in a highly sensitive interferometric measurement. Possible noise sources are analysed and estimates are given for the device sensitivity.
We explore ways to use the ability to measure the populations of individual magnetic sublevels to improve the sensitivity of magnetic field measurements and measurements of atomic electric dipole moments (EDMs). When atoms are initialized in the m=0m=0m=0 magnetic sublevel, the shot-noise-limited uncertainty of these measurements is 1/2F(F+1)1/\sqrt{2F(F+1)}1/2F(F+1)​ smaller than that of a Larmor precession measurement. When the populations in the even (or odd) magnetic sublevels are combined, we show that these measurements are independent of the tensor Stark shift and the second order Zeeman shift. We discuss the complicating effect of a transverse magnetic field and show that when the ratio of the tensor Stark shift to the transverse magnetic field is sufficiently large, an EDM measurement with atoms initialized in the superposition of the stretched states can reach the optimal sensitivity.
The permanent electric dipole moment (EDM) of atoms, molecules, and elementary particles is predicted in the standard model. While it is too small compared with the experimental measurement sensitivity, it is an important method to search for beyond-standard-model physics via CP violating mechanisms. In this talk, I will focus on the EDM measurement of the 171Yb atoms with atoms held in an optical dipole trap. A quantum nondemolition measurement with a spin-detection efficiency of 50% is realized. A systematic effect due to parity mixing induced by a static E field is observed, and is suppressed by averaging between measurements with optical dipole traps in opposite directions. The coherent spin precession time is found to be much longer than 300 s. The measurement result leads to an upper limit of |d(171Yb)| < 1.5 E−26 e cm (95% C.L.). These measurement techniques can be adapted to search for the EDM of 225Ra.
This thesis describes efforts towards the design and construction of an apparatus to measure the electric dipole moment (edm) of the electron. The current experimental bound on the electron edm, d[subscript e], is |d[subscript e]| ≤ 1.6×10⁻²⁷ e·cm [1]. Our system is designed to be sensitive to an electron dipole moment as small as 10⁻²⁹ e·cm. The experiment will use laser-cooled Cs atoms loaded and captured in optical molasses from a separate 2D MOT cold atom source. The atoms diffusing in the optical molasses will be trapped by two side-by-side standing wave, far-off resonance optical dipole force traps. High voltage electrodes will apply opposite polarity electric fields to the two traps. The signature of an edm would be a first-order electric field shift of the atomic Zeeman levels upon reversal of the electric fields. We have paid special attention to the magnetic noise generated by Johnson noise currents of conductors in the design of this apparatus
The large dispersion of a phase-coherent medium, at a point of vanishing absorption, is applied to interferometric measurements of detuning between atomic and radiation frequencies. It is shown that, under certain conditions, the interferometer quantum-limited operation is determined by vacuum-fluctuation shot noise while the noise introduced by the interaction of the probe field with the phase-coherent atoms can be made negligible. As a possible application, an optical magnetometer is analyzed whose sensitivity is shown to be potentially superior to the present state-of-the-art devices.
The permanent electric dipole moment (EDM) of the 171Yb^{171}\mathrm{Yb}171Yb (I=1/2)(I=1/2)(I=1/2) atom is measured with atoms held in an optical dipole trap. By enabling a cycling transition that is simultaneously spin-selective and spin-preserving, a quantum nondemolition measurement with a spin-detection efficiency of 50% is realized. A systematic effect due to parity mixing induced by a static EEE field is observed, and is suppressed by averaging between measurements with optical dipole traps in opposite directions. The coherent spin precession time is found to be much longer than 300 s. The EDM is determined to be $d(^{171}\mathrm{Yb})=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}(\ensuremath{-}6.8\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}{5.1}_{\text{stat}}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}{1.2}_{\mathrm{syst}})\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}27}\text{ }\text{ }e\text{ }\mathrm{cm}$, leading to an upper limit of $|d(^{171}\mathrm{Yb})|<1.5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}26}\text{ }\text{ }e\text{ }\mathrm{cm}$ (95% C.L.). These measurement techniques can be adapted to search for the EDM of 225Ra^{225}\mathrm{Ra}225Ra.
The characterization of electric and magnetic dipole moments (EDM and MDM) in quantum systems is central to fundamental physics and quantum sensing. While EDM searches provide powerful probes of CP violation within and beyond the Standard Model, precise MDM estimation is crucial for high-precision magnetometry and the development of quantum sensors. In this work, we address the ultimate precision limits for separate and simultaneous estimation of both dipole moments in a generic two-level system coupled to electromagnetic fields. We analyze three classes of quantum probes/strategies: unitary and depolarizing dynamics, and thermal equilibrium states. For each, we derive the quantum Fisher information (matrix), identify optimal probes, and determine the ideal operating conditions, such as evolution times and temperatures, that maximize estimation precision. We further assess the compatibility and sloppiness of the statistical models, showing that orthogonal dipole moments configurations enable joint estimation of EDM and MDM, whereas parallel configurations are intrinsically sloppy, permitting only the estimation of a single parameter combination. Our results provide a unified metrological framework for estimation schemes ranging from neutron EDM searches to molecular magnetometry, and highlight the distinct roles of coherence, noise, and thermalization in multiparameter quantum sensing of dipole moments.