Enhancing the Effect of Lorentz Invariance and Einstein's Equivalence Principle Violation in Nuclei and Atoms

• Published in: Physical review letters Vol. 117; no. 7; p. 072501
• Main Author: Flambaum, V V
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 12.08.2016
• ISSN: 1079-7114
• DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.117.072501

Local Lorentz invariance violating (LLIV) and Einstein equivalence principle violating (EEPV) effects in atomic experiments are discussed. The EEPV effects are strongly enhanced in the narrow 7.8 eV transition in the _{90}^{229}Th nucleus. The nuclear LLIV tensors describing the anisotropy in the maximal attainable speed for massive particles (analog of the Michelson-Morley experiment for light) are expressed in terms of the experimental values of the nuclear quadrupole moments. Calculations for nuclei of experimental interest _{55}^{133}Cs, _{37}^{85}Rb, _{37}^{87}Rb, _{80}^{201}Hg, _{54}^{131}Xe, and _{10}^{21}Ne are performed. The results for _{10}^{21}Ne are used to improve the limits on the proton LLIV interaction constants by 4 orders of magnitude.