VSI Seminar: Jan Richter

Speaker
Jan Richter, PTB Braunschweig

Title
Probing the Standard Model with Isotope Shifts and Atomic Parity Violation.

Abstract
High-precision atomic spectroscopy provides powerful means to probe the limits of the Standard Model and to search for possible new interactions. This talk focuses on two established examples of such tests: the analysis of isotope shifts and atomic parity violation.

In the first part, we review how the so-called King-plot analysis can be used to constrain the coupling of hypothetical new bosons to electrons and neutrons using isotope-shift data. Recent results for singly charged Ca⁺ and highly charged Ca¹⁴⁺ ions are discussed, where a nonlinear King plot has been observed for the first time in calcium. We examine how different Standard Model contributions can give rise to such nonlinearities and discuss their impact on the interpretation of these measurements in terms of new physics.

In the second part, we turn to atomic parity violation, which arises from the weak interaction between atomic electrons and the nucleus and provides a unique opportunity to test the electroweak sector of the Standard Model at low energies. In particular, we focus on two scenarios for possible future experiments. First, the prospects of measurements with highly charged ions stored in the SPS and LHC rings at CERN are discussed within the framework of the Gamma Factory project. Second, we explore the use of structured light fields for future atomic parity violation experiments.