Experimental search for the permanent electric dipole moment of an Na atom using special capacitor in the shape of Dewar flask

TL;DR

This study experimentally searches for a permanent electric dipole moment in sodium atoms using specialized capacitors, providing evidence for fundamental symmetry violations and suggesting Na atoms have a measurable EDM.

Contribution

It reports the first measurement of a large EDM in sodium atoms, indicating potential time-reversal and CP violation, using a novel capacitor setup with sodium vapor.

Findings

Na atoms exhibit a large permanent EDM of 1.28×10⁻⁸ e·cm.

Electric susceptibility of Na is proportional to density and inversely to temperature.

Linear Stark shift in Na is very small, at 0.0033 nm.

Abstract

Since the time of Rutherford it was commonly believed that with no electric field, the nucleus of an atom is at the centre of the electron cloud, so that all kinds of atoms do not have permanent electric dipole moment (EDM). In the fact, the idea is untested hypothesis. Using two special capacitors containing Sodium vapor we find the electric susceptibility Xe of Na atoms is directly proportional to its density N, and inversely to the absolute temperature T, as polar molecules. Xe=A+B/T, where A is approximately to zero, B=126.6 (K) and N=1.49*1020 m-3. A ground state neutral Na atom has a large permanent EDM: d( Na)=1.28*10-8e.cm. The non-zero observation of EDM in any non-degenerate system will be a direct proof of time-reversal violation in nature, and new example of CP violation occurred in Na atoms. We work out the most linear Stark shift of Na atoms is only 0.0033nm, and so its linear Stark effect has not been observed till now! The experimental Na material with purity 0.9995 is supplied by Strem Chemicals Co. USA. The previous measurements have given d(K), d(Rb) and d(Cs). These results can be repeated in other laboratories, we welcome anyone who is interested in the experiments to visit and examine them.