Assessing the time constancy of the proton-to-electron mass ratio by precision ro-vibrational spectroscopy of a cold molecular beam

Year: 2014

Authors: Santamaria L., Di Sarno V., Ricciardi I., Mosca S., De Rosa M., Santambrogio G., Maddaloni P., De Natale P.

Autors Affiliation: CNR-INO, Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy; CNR-INO, Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, Via N. Carrara 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Faradayweg 4-6, 14195 Berlin, Germany; INFN, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare – Sez. di Firenze, Via G. Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; CNR-INO, Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, Largo E. Fermi 6, 50125 Firenze, Italy

Abstract: We report the design of an experiment that aims to constrain, over a-few-year timescale, the fractional temporal variation of the proton-to-electron mass ratio, beta = m(p)/m(e), at a level of 10(-15)/yr by means of a spectroscopic frequency measurement on a beam of cold CF3H molecules. This is extracted from a buffer-gas-cooling source and then collimated by means of an electrostatic hexapole lens. Employed in a two-photon Ramsey-fringes interrogation scheme, the probe source is based on a mid-infrared quantum cascade laser, phase-locked to a specially-developed optical frequency comb that is ultimately referenced to the Cs primary standard via an optical fiber link. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Journal/Review: JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY

Volume: 300      Pages from: 116  to: 123

More Information: The authors acknowledge helpful discussions with S.A. Meek and S. Skoff, and technical support by G. Notariale. This work was partly funded by MIUR-FIRB project RBFR1006TZ.
KeyWords: Electrostatic lenses; Laser mode locking; Optical fibers; Photons; Quantum cascade lasers, Buffer gas cooling; Cold molecular beams; Frequency measurements; Mass ratio; Mid-infrared quantum cascade; Optical frequency combs; Ramsey spectroscopy; Ro-vibrational spectroscopies, Protons
DOI: 10.1016/j.jms.2014.03.013

ImpactFactor: 1.482
Citations: 13
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