Design for a fountain of YbF molecules to measure the electron's electric dipole moment

TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel experimental setup using ultracold YbF molecules in a fountain configuration to measure the electron's electric dipole moment with high precision.

Contribution

It introduces a new method combining cryogenic buffer gas cooling and optical molasses to create a molecular fountain for EDM measurement.

Findings

Design of a molecular fountain for EDM measurement

Potential for improved sensitivity in electron EDM detection

Integration of cryogenic cooling with optical trapping techniques

Abstract

We propose an experiment to measure the electric dipole moment of the electron using ultracold YbF molecules. The molecules are produced as a thermal beam by a cryogenic buffer gas source, and brought to rest in an optical molasses that cools them to the Doppler limit or below. The molecular cloud is then thrown upward to form a fountain in which the electric dipole moment of the electron is measured.