K. Tullney

New Limit on Lorentz-Invariance- and CPT-Violating Neutron Spin Interactions Using a Free-Spin-Precession

We report on the search for a CPT- and Lorentz-invariance-violating coupling of the He3 and Xe129 nuclear spins (each largely determined by a valence neutron) to posited background tensor fields that permeate the Universe. Our experimental approach is to measure the free precession of nuclear spin polarized He3 and Xe129 atoms in a homogeneous magnetic guiding field of about 400 nT using LTC SQUIDs as low-noise magnetic flux detectors. As the laboratory reference frame rotates with respect to distant stars, we look for a sidereal modulation of the Larmor frequencies of the colocated spin samples. As a result we obtain an upper limit on the equatorial component of the background field interacting with the spin of the bound neutron b(⊥)(n)<8.4 × 10(-34)  GeV (68% C.L.). Our result improves our previous limit (data measured in 2009) by a factor of 30 and the worlds best limit by a factor of 4.

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We search for a spin-dependent P- and T-violating nucleon-nucleon interaction mediated by light pseudoscalar bosons such as axions or axionlike particles. We employ an ultrasensitive low-field magnetometer based on the detection of free precession of colocated 3He and 129Xe nuclear spins using SQUIDs as low-noise magnetic flux detectors. The precession frequency shift in the presence of an unpolarized mass was measured to determine the coupling of pseudoscalar particles to the spin of the bound neutron. For boson masses between 2 and 500  μeV (force ranges between 3×1(-4)  m and 10(-1)  m) we improved the laboratory upper bounds by up to 4 orders of magnitude.

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We discuss the design and performance of a very sensitive low-field magnetometer based on the detection of free spin precession of gaseous, nuclear polarized 3He or 129Xe samples with a SQUID as magnetic flux detector. The device will be employed to control fluctuating magnetic fields and gradients in a new experiment searching for a permanent electric dipole moment of the neutron as well as in a new type of 3He/129Xe clock comparison experiment which should be sensitive to a sidereal variation of the relative spin precession frequency. Characteristic spin precession times T_2 of up to 60h could be measured. In combination with a signal-to-noise ratio of>5000:1, this leads to a sensitivity level of deltaB= 1fT after an integration time of 220s and to deltaB= 10^(-4)fT after one day. Even in that sensitivity range, the magnetometer performance is statistically limited, and noise sources inherent to the magnetometer are not limiting. The reason is that free precessing 3He (129Xe) nuclear spins are almost completely decoupled from the environment. That makes this type of magnetometer in particular attractive for precision field measurements where a long-term stability is required.

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We report on the search for Lorentz-violating sidereal variations of the frequency difference of colocated spin species while the Earth and hence the laboratory reference frame rotates with respect to a relic background field. The comagnetometer used is based on the detection of freely precessing nuclear spins from polarized 3 He and 129 Xe gas samples using SQUIDs as low-noise magnetic flux detectors. As result we can determine the limit for the equatorial component of the background field interacting with the spin of the bound neutron to be b n ⊥ < 3.7 · 10- 32 GeV (95% C.L.).

Xe Comagnetometer

Polarization of 3He gas by means of optical pumping is well known since the early 1960s with first applications in fundamental physics. Some thirty years later it was discovered, that one can use hyperpolarized 3He as contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging of the lung. The wide interest in this new method made it necessary to find ways of polarizing 3He in large quantities with high polarization degrees. A high performance polarizing facility has been developed at the University of Mainz, designed for centralized production of hyperpolarized 3He gas. We present the Mainz concept as well as some examples of numerous applications of spin polarized 3He in fundamental research and medical applications.

Constraints on spin-dependent short-range interaction between nucleons.

We discuss the design and performance of a very sensitive low-field magnetometer based on the detection of free spin precession of gaseous, nuclear polarized 3He or 129Xe samples with a SQUID as magnetic flux detector. Characteristic spin precession times T*2 of up to 60 h were measured in low magnetic fields (about 1μT) and in the regime of motional narrowing. With the detection of the free precession of co-located 3He/129Xe nuclear spins (clock comparison), the device can be used as ultra-sensitive probe for non-magnetic spin interactions, since the magnetic dipole interaction (Zeeman-term) drops out in the weighted frequency difference, i.e., Δω = ωHe− γHe/γXe·ωXe. We report on searches for a) Lorentz violating signatures by monitoring the Larmor frequencies of co-located He/129Xe spin samples as the laboratory reference frame rotates with respect to distant stars (sidereal modulation) and b) spin-dependent short-range interactions induced by light, pseudoscalar bosons such as the axion invented to solve the strong CP problem.

Ultra-sensitive magnetometry based on free precession of nuclear spins

To test Lorentz symmetry we used a 3He/129Xe co-magnetometer. We will give a short summary of our experimental setup and the results of our latest measurements. We obtained preliminary results for the equatorial component of the background field interacting with the spin of the bound neutron: b_n < 3.72 x 10^(-32) GeV (95 C.L.).

Limit on Lorentz and CPT violation of the bound Neutron Using a Free Precession 3He/129Xe co-magnetometer

We performed a search for a Lorentz-invariance- and CPT-violating coupling of the

Spin polarized 3 He: From basic research to medical applications

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Probing Lorentz invariance and other fundamental symmetries in 3He/129Xe clock-comparison experiments

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