Parity violation observed in the beta decay of magnetically trapped 82Rb atoms.
Laser cooling and atomic trapping techniques have been employed to confine polarized 82Rb atoms ( T1/2 = 75 s) in a magnetic time-orbiting-potential (TOP) trap. We have observed the parity-violating correlation between the emitted positron momentum and the parent nuclear spin as a continuous function of angle and positron energy for this pure Gamow-Teller (GT) transition. These proof-of-principle measurements demonstrate the utility of exploring fundamental symmetries in a TOP trap and the steps required to improve sensitivity in the search for physics beyond the standard model.
Crane
S G
SG
Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico 87547, USA.
Brice
S J
SJ
Goldschmidt
A
A
Guckert
R
R
Hime
A
A
Kitten
J J
JJ
Vieira
D J
DJ
Zhao
X
X