BSM-PM: Molecular Lattice Clock for Metrology and Tests of New Physics

Precise experiments performed with tabletop setups offer remarkable opportunities for exploring physics and probing beyond its known boundaries. These methods, which include atomic and molecular clocks, are capable of testing fundamental symmetries, measuring the constants of nature, and observing subtle general relativistic effects. Such experiments are also crucial for ambitious goals like detecting gravitational waves and hypothetical dark matter. Optical atomic clocks, made highly precise by advancements in optical technologies as well as in laser cooling and trapping of atoms, exemplify this potential. Small molecules, with their more complex structure than atoms, present even richer opportunities but are challenging to control. The PI’s research group has developed a molecular clock that tightly holds diatomic molecules in an optical lattice trap, isolating them from their environment. This setup allows them to use molecular vibrations to precisely sense the force between atoms, potentially revealing modifications to Newtonian gravity at the nanometer scale. Additionally, this research provides outstanding training opportunities for students, equipping them with hands-on skills in cutting-edge fields of science, and supporting innovative educational programs. Investigating gravity-like interactions in the nanometer range, where electrostatic forces strongly dominate, is largely uncharted territory. Vibrating diatomic molecules, especially when used in a clock configuration with state-insensitive optical traps, offer a promising approach to these studies. This technique already allows for a clock quality factor of several trillion, which the PI’s group aims to further enhance with improved cooling of strontium atoms and optimized optical lattice traps. The state-of-the-art molecular clock will utilize multiple vibrational states and strontium isotopes to control molecular bond lengths and nuclear masses, which are key parameters for mapping interatomic forces with unprecedented precision. These experiments will also advance theoretical quantum chemistry, terahertz metrology, tests of fundamental constant stability, ultracold chemistry, and molecular quantum control techniques. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.