The NWO Domain Board Science has approved our ENW-M2 proposal (together with dr. J. Koelemeij)
What is wrong with the deuteron? Searching for new physics by swapping protons and deuterons in a molecular clock.
Subatomic particles can be viewed as tiny magnets with an electric charge. Assembling the subatomic particles to form the simplest molecules will result in a different total energy, depending on the relative orientation of these magnets inside the molecule. Such molecules resemble tiny clocks, whose ticking rate is the radiation frequency needed to flip the magnets. This project is aimed at measuring the clock frequencies for electrons that are magnetically paired with protons and/or deuterons. The results will help explain recently observed anomalous behaviour of deuterons (which might be caused by `new physics’), and improve the values of fundamental constants.
Maximilian Beyer
Assistant Professor
My research interests focus on precision measurements of simple molecular ions to test quantum electrodynamics (QED) and to search for physics beyond the Standard Model.