Development of high-sensitivity NMOR magnetometry for an EDM experiment

Abstract

Developments are in progress aiming at the search for a permanent Electric Dipole Moment (EDM) in 129Xe atom using a low-frequency nuclear spin maser. In the EDM experiment, drifts in the applied static magnetic field in a long time scale are the dominating source of errors in frequency determination. The stability of the applied field and its monitoring by use of a high sensitivity magnetometer are thus the indispensable part of the EDM experiment. We are developing a magnetometer based on the Nonlinear Magneto-Optical Rotation (NMOR) effect in Rb atom. The sharp response to the magnetic field in this apparatus relies on a long relaxation time of the atomic spin alignment induced by linearly polarized laser light, and thus the suppression of the atomic decoherence should be essential for its sensitivity. Coating the inner walls of the cell with an antirelaxation layer, introducing a buffer gas in the cell and cancelling the transverse magnetic field should be effective in preventing atoms from depolarization. We obtained several NMOR spectra for Rb in cylindrical cells in such attempts. Up to now a sensitivity of δB=1.5 × 10 -5 G has been attained in the present setup.