English

Constraints on the Variation of Physical Constants, Equivalence Principle Violation, and a Fifth Force from Atomic Experiments

High Energy Physics - Phenomenology 2024-09-24 v2 Nuclear Theory Atomic Physics

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to derive limits on various forms of ``new physics'' using atomic experimental data. Interactions with dark energy and dark matter fields can lead to space-time variations of fundamental constants, which can be detected through atomic spectroscopy. In this study, we examine the effects of a varying nuclear mass mNm_{N} and nuclear radius rNr_{N} on two transition ratios: the comparison of the two-photon transition in atomic hydrogen with the hyperfine transition in 133^{133}Cs based clocks, and the ratio of optical clock frequencies in in Al+^{+} and Hg+^{+}. The sensitivity of these frequency ratios to changes in mNm_{N} and rNr_{N} enables us to derive new limits on the variations of the proton mass, quark mass, and the QCD parameter θ\theta. Additionally, we consider the scalar field generated by the Yukawa-type interaction of feebly interacting hypothetical scalar particles with Standard Model particles in the presence of massive bodies such as the Sun and Moon. Using the data from the Al+^{+}/Hg+^{+}, Yb+^{+}/Cs and Yb+^{+}(E2)/Yb+^{+}(E3) transition frequency ratios, we place constraints on the interaction of the scalar field with photons, nucleons, and electrons for a range of scalar particle masses. We also investigate limits on the Einstein Equivalence Principle (EEP) violating term (c00c_{00}) in the Standard Model Extension (SME) Lagrangian and the dependence of fundamental constants on gravity.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2402.09643,
  title  = {Constraints on the Variation of Physical Constants, Equivalence Principle Violation, and a Fifth Force from Atomic Experiments},
  author = {V. A. Dzuba and V. V. Flambaum and A. J. Mansour},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2402.09643},
  year   = {2024}
}