EXPERIMENTAL TESTS OF QUANTUM MECHANICS PAULI EXCLUSION PRINCIPLE VIOLATION (THE VIP EXPERIMENT) AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES
Catalina Curceanu, Sergio Bartalucci, M. Bragadireanu, C. Guaraldo, M. Iliescu, T. PIETREANU, Titus Ponta, Antonio Romero Vidal, A. Scordo, D. L. Sirghi, Florin Catalin Sirghi, Luciano Sperandio, O. Vázquez Doce, M. Cargnelli, Tomoichi Ishiwatari, Johann Marton, E. Widmann, Johann Zmeskal, S. Bertolucci, S. Di Matteo, J.-P. Egger, E. Milotti, Matthias Laubenstein
The Pauli exclusion principle (PEP) is one of the basic principles of modern physics. Being at the very basis of our understanding of matter, as many other fundamental principles it spurs, presently, a lively debate on its possible limits, deeply rooted in the very foundations of Quantum Field Theory. Therefore, it is extremely important to test the limits of its validity. Quon theory provides a suitable mathematical framework of possible violation of PEP, where the violation parameter q translates into a probability of violating PEP. Experimentally, setting a bound on PEP violation means confining the violation parameter to a value very close to either 1 (for bosons) or -1 (for fermions). The VIP (VIolation of the Pauli exclusion principle) experiment established a limit on the probability that PEP is violated by electrons, using the method of searching for PEP forbidden atomic transitions in copper. We describe the experimental method, the obtained results, both in terms of the q-parameter from quon theory and as probability of PEP violation, we briefly discuss them and present future plans to go beyond the actual limit by upgrading the experimental technique using vetoed new spectroscopical fast Silicon Drift Detectors. We also shortly mention the possibility of using a similar experimental technique to search for eventual X-rays, generated in the spontaneous collapse models.
The Pauli exclusion principle (PEP) is one of the basic principles of modern physics. Being at the very basis of our understanding of matter, as many other fundamental principles it spurs, presently, a lively debate on its possible limits, deeply rooted in the very foundations of Quantum Field Theory. Therefore, it is extremely important to test the limits of its validity. Quon theory provides a suitable mathematical framework of possible violation of PEP, where the violation parameter q translates into a probability of violating PEP. Experimentally, setting a bound on PEP violation means confining the violation parameter to a value very close to either 1 (for bosons) or -1 (for fermions). The VIP (VIolation of the Pauli exclusion principle) experiment established a limit on the probability that PEP is violated by electrons, using the method of searching for PEP forbidden atomic transitions in copper. We describe the experimental method, the obtained results, both in terms of the q-parameter from quon theory and as probability of PEP violation, we briefly discuss them and present future plans to go beyond the actual limit by upgrading the experimental technique using vetoed new spectroscopical fast Silicon Drift Detectors. We also shortly mention the possibility of using a similar experimental technique to search for eventual X-rays, generated in the spontaneous collapse models.
The Pauli exclusion principle (PEP) is one of the basic principles of the modern physics. Being at the very basis of our understanding of matter, it spurs, presently, a lively debate on its possible limits, deeply rooted in the very foundations of Quantum Field Theory. Therefore, it is extremely important to test the limits of its validity. Quon theory provides a suitable mathematical framework of possible violation of PEP, where the violation parameter q translates into a probability of violating PEP. Experimentally, setting a bound on PEP violation means confining the violation parameter to a value very close to either 1 (for bosons) or −1 (for fermions). The VIP (VIolation of the Pauli exclusion principle) experiment established a limit on the probability that PEP is violated by electrons, using the method of searching for PEP forbidden atomic transitions in copper. We describe the experimental method, the obtained results, both in terms of the q-parameter from quon theory and as probability of PEP violation, we briefly discuss them and present future plans to go beyond the actual limit by upgrading the experimental technique using vetoed new spectroscopical fast Silicon Drift Detectors. We also mention the possibility of using a similar experimental technique to search for eventual X-rays, generated in the spontaneous collapse models.
The Pauli exclusion principle (PEP), consequence of the spin-statistics connection, is one of the basic principles of the modern physics. Being at the very basis of our understanding of matter, as many other fundamental principles it spurs a lively debate on its possible limits, deeply rooted in the very foundations of Quantum Field Theory. Therefore, it is extremely important to test the limits of its validity. Quon theory provides a suitable mathematical framework of possible violation of PEP, where the violation parameter q translates into a probability of violating PEP. The VIP (VIolation of the Pauli exclusion principle) experiment established a new limit on the probability that PEP is violated by electrons, using the method of searching for PEP forbidden atomic transitions in copper. We describe the experimental method, the obtained results, both in terms of the q -parameter from quon theory and as probability of PEP violation, we briefly discuss them and present future plans to go beyond the actual limit by upgrading the experimental setup. We also shortly mention the possibility of using a similar experimental technique to search for eventual X-rays, generated in the spontaneous collapse models in quantum mechanics.
The Pauli exclusion principle (PEP) and, more generally, the spin-statistics connection, is at the very basis of our understanding of matter. The PEP spurs, presently, a lively debate on its possible limits, deeply rooted in the very foundations of Quantum Field Theory. Therefore, it is extremely important to test the limits of its validity. Quon theory provides a suitable mathematical framework of possible violation of PEP, where the q violation parameter translates into a probability of violating PEP. Experimentally, setting a bound on PEP violation means confining the q -parameter to a value very close to either 1 (for bosons) or -1 (for fermions). The VIP (Violation of the Pauli exclusion principle) experiment established a limit on the probability that PEP is violated by electrons, using the method of searching for PEP forbidden atomic transitions in copper. We describe the experimental method, the obtained results, both in terms of the q -parameter and as probability of PEP violation, we briefly discuss the results and present future plans to go beyond the actual limit by upgrading the experimental technique using vetoed new spectroscopic fast Silicon Drift Detectors. We mention as well the possibility of using a similar experimental technique to search for eventual X-rays generated as a signature of the spontaneous collapse of the wave function, predicted by continuous spontaneous localization type theories.
The Pauli exclusion principle (PEP), as a consequence or the spin-statistics connection, is one of the basic principles of the modern physics. Being at the very basis of our understanding of matter, it spurs a lively debate on its possible limits, deeply rooted as it is in the very foundations of Quantum Field Theory. The VIP (VIolation of the Pauli exclusion principle) experiment established the world's best limit on the probability that PEP is violated by electrons, using the method of searching for PEP forbidden atomic transitions in copper. We describe the experimental method and the obtained results; we briefly present future plans to go beyond the actual limit by upgrading the experiment using vetoed new spectroscopic fast Silicon Drift Detectors. We also shortly mention the possibility of using a similar experimental technique to search for possible X-rays generated in the spontaneous collapse models of quantum mechanics.
The Pauli exclusion principle (PEP) and, more generally, the spin-statistics connection, is at the very basis of our understanding of matter and Nature. The PEP spurs, presently, a lively debate on its possible limits, deeply rooted in the very foundations of Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Field Theory. Therefore, it is extremely important to test the limits of its validity. Quon theory provides a suitable mathematical framework of possible small violation of PEP, where the q violation parameter translates into a probability of violating PEP. Experimentally, setting a bound on PEP violation means confining the q-parameter to a value very close to either 1 (for bosons) or −1 (for fermions). The VIP (VIolation of the Pauli exclusion principle) experiment established a limit on the probability that PEP is violated by electrons, using the very clean method of searching for PEP forbidden atomic transitions in copper. We describe the experimental method, the obtained results, both in terms of the q-parameter and as probability of PEP violation, we briefly discuss the results and present plans to go beyond the actual limit by upgrading the experimental technique using vetoed new spectroscopical fast Silicon Drift Detectors. We discuss as well the possibility of using a similar experimental technique to search for X-rays generated as a signature of the spontaneous collapse of the wave function, predicted by continous spontaneous localization type theories.
The Pauli Exclusion Principle (PEP) represents one of the fundamental principles of the modern physics and our comprehension of the surrounding matter is based on it. Even if today there are no compelling reasons to doubt its validity, it still spurs a lively debate on its limits, as testified by the abundant contributions found in the literature and in topical conferences. We present a method of searching for possible small violations of PEP for electrons, through the search for "anomalous" X-ray transitions in copper atoms, produced by "fresh" electrons which can decay in a Pauli-forbidden transition to the 1s level, already occupied by two electrons. The VIP Experiment has the scientific goal to improve by four orders of magnitude the present limit on the probability of PEP violation for electrons, bringing it into the 10-30–10-31 region. Preliminary results, together with future plans, are presented.