Present and future of experimental low-energy precision nuclear physics

Prof. Dr. Klaus Blaum, Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics

Present and future of experimental low-energy precision nuclear physics

The four fundamental interactions and their underlying symmetries, together with the fundamental constants and intrinsic properties of elementary particles, such as nuclear masses and magnetic moments, constitute the structural foundation of the universe and underpin the well-established Standard Model of particle physics.

This overview presents recent nuclear-physics tests of these interactions and symmetries through high-precision measurements of atomic and nuclear masses, nuclear charge radii, and magnetic moments. These experiments are performed on single or few cooled exotic ions, either probed by laser spectroscopy or confined in Penning traps.

Notably, such measurements have, among other achievements, enabled stringent constraints to be placed on a hypothetical fifth force in the keV/c² to MeV/c² mass range coupling to electrons and neutrons, and have significantly improved the precision of several key fundamental constants.