An Apparatus for Measuring the Electron’s Electric Dipole Moment in Trapped ThF+

Unresolved questions in the universe, such as the matter-antimatter asymmetry, challenge the limitations of the Standard Model. As searches for beyond-the-Standard-Model physics face escalating energy scale requirements in particle accelerator experiments, low energy investigations targeting symmetry-breaking properties, like the electron’s electric dipole moment (eEDM), have become a key tool in probing these theories. Recently, our group at JILA set a world-record limit on the eEDM, providing a new constraint on the masses of supersymmetric particles.

In order to achieve any more sensitivity in such a measurement, the next iteration of the experiment must grow dramatically in complexity. The new generation of JILA eEDM experiment is different in three main ways. First, a new molecular ion species, ThF+, gives inherently longer coherence times because the experiment can be performed in the ground electronic, vibrational, and rotational state of the molecule. In order to gain access to this long coherence time, we must introduce cryogenics to the ion trap so as to reduce ambient black-body radiation that can incoherently excite the relevant quantum states. Finally, in order to access long coherence times without sacrificing count rate, the experiment is designed to eventually be multiplexed.

The resulting experiment will take of order one decade from conception to result. This thesis will cover the design and construction of the third generation eEDM experiment, as well as demonstrate preliminary measurements of the eEDM-sensitive states of ThF+.