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Probing QED and fundamental constants through laser spectroscopy of vibrational transitions in HD(+)

The simplest molecules in nature, molecular hydrogen ions in the form of H(2)(+) and HD(+), provide an important benchmark system for tests of quantum electrodynamics in complex forms of matter. Here, we report on such a test based on a frequency measurement of a vibrational overtone transition in H...

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Autores principales: Biesheuvel, J., Karr, J.-Ph., Hilico, L., Eikema, K. S. E., Ubachs, W., Koelemeij, J. C. J.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Nature Publishing Group 2016
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4737800/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26815886
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10385
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author Biesheuvel, J.
Karr, J.-Ph.
Hilico, L.
Eikema, K. S. E.
Ubachs, W.
Koelemeij, J. C. J.
author_facet Biesheuvel, J.
Karr, J.-Ph.
Hilico, L.
Eikema, K. S. E.
Ubachs, W.
Koelemeij, J. C. J.
author_sort Biesheuvel, J.
collection PubMed
description The simplest molecules in nature, molecular hydrogen ions in the form of H(2)(+) and HD(+), provide an important benchmark system for tests of quantum electrodynamics in complex forms of matter. Here, we report on such a test based on a frequency measurement of a vibrational overtone transition in HD(+) by laser spectroscopy. We find that the theoretical and experimental frequencies are equal to within 0.6(1.1) parts per billion, which represents the most stringent test of molecular theory so far. Our measurement not only confirms the validity of high-order quantum electrodynamics in molecules, but also enables the long predicted determination of the proton-to-electron mass ratio from a molecular system, as well as improved constraints on hypothetical fifth forces and compactified higher dimensions at the molecular scale. With the perspective of comparisons between theory and experiment at the 0.01 part-per-billion level, our work demonstrates the potential of molecular hydrogen ions as a probe of fundamental physical constants and laws.
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spelling pubmed-47378002016-03-04 Probing QED and fundamental constants through laser spectroscopy of vibrational transitions in HD(+) Biesheuvel, J. Karr, J.-Ph. Hilico, L. Eikema, K. S. E. Ubachs, W. Koelemeij, J. C. J. Nat Commun Article The simplest molecules in nature, molecular hydrogen ions in the form of H(2)(+) and HD(+), provide an important benchmark system for tests of quantum electrodynamics in complex forms of matter. Here, we report on such a test based on a frequency measurement of a vibrational overtone transition in HD(+) by laser spectroscopy. We find that the theoretical and experimental frequencies are equal to within 0.6(1.1) parts per billion, which represents the most stringent test of molecular theory so far. Our measurement not only confirms the validity of high-order quantum electrodynamics in molecules, but also enables the long predicted determination of the proton-to-electron mass ratio from a molecular system, as well as improved constraints on hypothetical fifth forces and compactified higher dimensions at the molecular scale. With the perspective of comparisons between theory and experiment at the 0.01 part-per-billion level, our work demonstrates the potential of molecular hydrogen ions as a probe of fundamental physical constants and laws. Nature Publishing Group 2016-01-27 /pmc/articles/PMC4737800/ /pubmed/26815886 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10385 Text en Copyright © 2016, Nature Publishing Group, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited. All Rights Reserved. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
spellingShingle Article
Biesheuvel, J.
Karr, J.-Ph.
Hilico, L.
Eikema, K. S. E.
Ubachs, W.
Koelemeij, J. C. J.
Probing QED and fundamental constants through laser spectroscopy of vibrational transitions in HD(+)
title Probing QED and fundamental constants through laser spectroscopy of vibrational transitions in HD(+)
title_full Probing QED and fundamental constants through laser spectroscopy of vibrational transitions in HD(+)
title_fullStr Probing QED and fundamental constants through laser spectroscopy of vibrational transitions in HD(+)
title_full_unstemmed Probing QED and fundamental constants through laser spectroscopy of vibrational transitions in HD(+)
title_short Probing QED and fundamental constants through laser spectroscopy of vibrational transitions in HD(+)
title_sort probing qed and fundamental constants through laser spectroscopy of vibrational transitions in hd(+)
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4737800/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26815886
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10385
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