Prospects for an electron electric dipole moment search in metastable ThO and ThF$^{\rm +}$

TL;DR

This paper introduces an improved method for accurately calculating the effective electric field in heavy polar molecules, identifying ThO and ThF$^{+}$ as prime candidates for electron EDM experiments due to their large ${f F}_{ m eff}$ values.

Contribution

The paper presents a new method for determining ${f F}_{ m eff}$ in heavy molecules, facilitating the selection of optimal candidates for eEDM searches.

Findings

${f F}_{ m eff}$ in ThO estimated at 104 GV/cm

${f F}_{ m eff}$ in ThF$^{+}$ estimated at 90 GV/cm

ThO and ThF$^{+}$ are top candidates for eEDM experiments

Abstract

The observation of an electron electric dipole moment (eEDM) would have major ramifications for the standard model of physics. Polar molecules offer a near-ideal laboratory for such searches due to the large effective electric field (${\bf F}_{\rm eff}$), on order of tens of GV/cm that can be easily oriented in the lab frame. We present an improved method for simply and accurately determining ${\bf F}_{\rm eff}$, in a heavy polar molecule, allowing for a quick determination of candidates for an eEDM experiment. We apply this method to ThO and ThF$^{\rm +}$, both of which possess metastable $^3\Delta$ electronic states. The values of ${\bf F}_{\rm eff}$ in ThO and ThF$^{\rm +}$ are estimated to be 104 GV/cm and 90 GV/cm respectively, and are therefore two of the best known candidates for the eEDM search.