Precision Storage Rings for Electric Dipole Moment Searches: A Tool En Route to Physics Beyond-the-Standard-Model

Particles, vol. 6, pp. 385–398

Abstract

Electric Dipole Moments (EDM) of particles (leptons, nucleons, and light nuclei) are currently deemed one of the best indicators for new physics, i.e., phenomena which lie outside the Standard Model (SM) of elementary particle physics—so-called physics “Beyond-the-Standard-Model” (BSM). Since EDMs of the SM are vanishingly small, a finite permanent EDM would indicate charge-parity (CP) symmetry violation in addition to the well-known sources of the SM, and could explain the baryon asymmetry of the Universe, while an oscillating EDM would hint at a possible Dark Matter (DM) field comprising axions or axion-like particles (ALPs). A new approach exploiting polarized charged particles (proton, deuteron, 3He) in precision storage rings offers the prospect to push current experimental EDM upper limits significantly further, including the possibility of an EDM discovery. In this paper, we describe the scientific background and the steps towards the realization of a precision storage ring, which will make such measurements possible.

Authors 4

1. H. Ströher corresponding

   Forschungszentrum Jülich

   Affiliation as printed

   Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ), 52425 Jülich, Germany

2. Sebastian M. Schmidt Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University · Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

   Affiliation as printed

   Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), 01328 Dresden, Germany

   Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH) Aachen, 52074 Aachen, Germany

3. P. Lenisa

   University of Ferrara · Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Ferrara · Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare

   Affiliation as printed

   Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), University of Ferrara, 44100 Ferrara, Italy

4. Jörg Pretz Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University · Forschungszentrum Jülich

   Affiliation as printed

   Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ), 52425 Jülich, Germany

   Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH) Aachen, 52074 Aachen, Germany