PHYDES

Local coordinator: Roberto Calabrese

The electron electric dipole moment (e-EDM) is a model-independent probe of parity and time-reversal violation at energies beyond the ones that can be reached in particle colliders. The PHYDES project is an R&D experiment aimed to test innovative approaches for e-EDM studies. In particular, the proposed idea is to use diatomic polar molecules, where e-EDM effects are amplified because of the large internal molecular field, embedded into cryogenic matrices made of unreactive elements. In such solids a diatomic molecule substitutes the atom or molecule of the host matrix and, since the host-guest ratio can be 1:200, the density of the host molecules could be as large as 10²² cm^-3.

The main goal of the PHYDES R&D program would be to try to embed Barium Fluoride (BaF) molecules in a solid matrix of para-Hydrogen (p-H2) and study their alignment with an external electric field and verify the assumption that BaF molecules are all polarized in p-H2 matrix. Such a request represents the starting point for future studies related to the e-EDM in these molecules.