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A new search for the variation of fundamental constants using the rovibrational levels and isotope effects of the magnesium fluoride molecule |
| Di Wu(吴迪)1, Jin Wei(魏晋)1, Taojing Dong(董涛晶)1, Chenyu Zu(祖晨宇)1, Yong Xia(夏勇)1,2,3,†, and Jianping Yin(印建平)1,‡ |
1 State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China;
2 Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China;
3 NYU-ECNU Institute of Physics at NYU Shanghai, Shanghai 200062, China |
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Abstract The recently demonstrated methods for cooling and trapping diatomic molecules offer new possibilities for precision searches in fundamental physical theories. Here, we propose to study the variations of the fine-structure constant ($\alpha =e^{2}/(\hslash c)$) and the proton-to-electron mass ratio ($\mu = m_{\rm p}/m_{\rm e}$) with time by taking advantage of the nearly degenerate rovibrational levels in the electronic states of the magnesium fluoride (MgF) molecule. Specifically, due to the cancellation between the fine-structure splitting and the rovibrational intervals in the different MgF natural isotopes, a degeneracy occurs for A$^{2} \Pi_{3 / 2}$ $(v'=0,\, J'=18.5,\,-)$ and A$^{2}\Pi_{1 / 2}$ $(v''=0,\, J''=20.5,\, -)$. We find that using the nearly degenerate energy level of such states can be 10$^{4}$ times more sensitive than using a pure rotational transition to measure the variations of $\alpha $ and $\mu $. To quantify the small gap between A$^{2} \Pi_{3 / 2}$ $(v'=0,\, J'=18.5,\, -)$ and A$^{2} \Pi_{1 / 2}$ $(v''=0,\, J''=20.5,\, -)$, special transitions of choice are feasible: X$^{2} \Sigma_{1 /2}^{+}$ $(v=0,\, J=19.5,\, +)$ to A$^{2}{\Pi }_{3 / 2}$ $(v'=0,\, J'=18.5,\, -)$ and X$^{2} \Sigma_{1 / 2}^{+}$ $(v=0,\, J=19.5,\, +)$ to A$^{2}{\Pi }_{1 / 2}$ $(v''=0,\, J''=20.5,\, -)$. In addition, we estimate the frequency uncertainties caused by the narrow linewidth, Zeeman shift, Stark shift, Doppler broadening and blackbody radiation.
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Received: 22 July 2024
Revised: 19 November 2024
Accepted manuscript online: 02 December 2024
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PACS:
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31.30.Gs
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(Hyperfine interactions and isotope effects)
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33.15.Pw
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(Fine and hyperfine structure)
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37.10.Mn
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(Slowing and cooling of molecules)
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06.20.Jr
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(Determination of fundamental constants)
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| Fund: Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 12174115, 11834003, and 91836103). |
Corresponding Authors:
Yong Xia, Jianping Yin
E-mail: yxia@phy.ecnu.edu.cn;jpyin@phy.ecnu.edu.cn
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Cite this article:
Di Wu(吴迪), Jin Wei(魏晋), Taojing Dong(董涛晶), Chenyu Zu(祖晨宇), Yong Xia(夏勇), and Jianping Yin(印建平) A new search for the variation of fundamental constants using the rovibrational levels and isotope effects of the magnesium fluoride molecule 2025 Chin. Phys. B 34 023101
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