30 research outputs found
Progress towards an accurate determination of the Boltzmann constant by Doppler spectroscopy
In this paper, we present significant progress performed on an experiment
dedicated to the determination of the Boltzmann constant, k, by accurately
measuring the Doppler absorption profile of a line in a gas of ammonia at
thermal equilibrium. This optical method based on the first principles of
statistical mechanics is an alternative to the acoustical method which has led
to the unique determination of k published by the CODATA with a relative
accuracy of 1.7 ppm. We report on the first measurement of the Boltzmann
constant by laser spectroscopy with a statistical uncertainty below 10 ppm,
more specifically 6.4 ppm. This progress results from improvements in the
detection method and in the statistical treatment of the data. In addition, we
have recorded the hyperfine structure of the probed saQ(6,3) rovibrational line
of ammonia by saturation spectroscopy and thus determine very precisely the
induced 4.36 (2) ppm broadening of the absorption linewidth. We also show that,
in our well chosen experimental conditions, saturation effects have a
negligible impact on the linewidth. Finally, we draw the route to future
developments for an absolute determination of with an accuracy of a few ppm.Comment: 22 pages, 11 figure
Testing new physics with the electron g-2
We argue that the anomalous magnetic moment of the electron (a_e) can be used
to probe new physics. We show that the present bound on new-physics
contributions to a_e is 8*10^-13, but the sensitivity can be improved by about
an order of magnitude with new measurements of a_e and more refined
determinations of alpha in atomic-physics experiments. Tests on new-physics
effects in a_e can play a crucial role in the interpretation of the observed
discrepancy in the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon (a_mu). In a large
class of models, new contributions to magnetic moments scale with the square of
lepton masses and thus the anomaly in a_mu suggests a new-physics effect in a_e
of (0.7 +- 0.2)*10^-13. We also present examples of new-physics theories in
which this scaling is violated and larger effects in a_e are expected. In such
models the value of a_e is correlated with specific predictions for processes
with violation of lepton number or lepton universality, and with the electric
dipole moment of the electron.Comment: 34 pages, 7 figures. Minor changes and references adde