"SPECIAL PARTICLE SEMINAR: Permanent Electric Dipole Moments: TeV Scale Physics with neV Neutrons"

 

 

 

The existence of a permanent electric dipole moment (EDM) in any non-degenerate system would be an affirmation of Time and (Charge-)Parity Violation in fundamental interactions. The revelation of a non-zero EDM in next generation experiments on atoms, molecules, or neutrons would yield important information on physics beyond the Standard Model. New sources of CP violation may make it possible to understand  the numerical size of the baryon asymmetry of the Universe, and the discovery potential of an EDM might be strongly coupled to the detection of super-symmetric particles at the LHC. 

 

The experimental sensitivity to the neutron EDM has been improved by eight orders of magnitude over the last six decades.  At present, the best limit of 2.9x10-26 e-cm was achieved at the  Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) using ultra-cold neutrons in a magnetic trap.  A new experiment  with the goal to improve this limit by possibly two orders of magnitude is under construction at the  Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) in Oak Ridge. A dense target of ultra-cold neutrons, "stored in a box",  in combination with a novel detection technique will be used to accomplish this goal. The current status of and the technology to achieve these objectives will be discussed.