Orientation-dependent hyperfine structure of polar molecules in a rare-gas matrix: a scheme for measuring the electron electric dipole moment

Understand

Because molecules can have their orientation locked when embedded into a solid rare-gas matrix, their hyperfine structure is strongly perturbed relative to the freely rotating molecule.

• The addition of an electric field further perturbs the structure, and fields parallel and antiparallel to the molecular orientation result in different shifts of the hyperfine structure.
• These shifts enable the selective detection of molecules with different orientations relative to the axes of a rare-gas crystal, which will be an important ingredient of an improved electron electric dipole moment measurement using large ensembles of polar molecules trapped in rare-gas matrices.