Engineering Field-Insensitive Molecular Clock Transitions for Symmetry Violation Searches.

Molecules are a powerful platform to probe fundamental symmetry violations beyond the standard model, as they offer both large amplification factors and robustness against systematic errors. As experimental sensitivities improve, it is important to develop new methods to suppress sensitivity to external electromagnetic fields, as limits on the ability to control these fields are a major experimental concern. Here we show that sensitivity to both external magnetic and electric fields can be simultaneously suppressed using engineered radio frequency, microwave, or two-photon transitions that maintain large amplification of CP-violating effects. By performing a clock measurement on these transitions, CP-violating observables including the electron electric dipole moment, nuclear Schiff moment, and magnetic quadrupole moment can be measured with suppression of external field sensitivity of ≳100 generically, and even more in many cases. Furthermore, the method is compatible with traditional Ramsey measurements, offers internal co-magnetometry, and is useful for systems with large angular momentum commonly present in molecular searches for nuclear CP violation.

Doppler-free Spectroscopy of Buffer-Gas-Cooled Calcium Monohydroxide.

In this study, we report the Doppler-free spectra of buffer-gas-cooled CaOH. We observed five Doppler-free spectra containing low-J Q1 and R12 transitions, which were only partially resolved by previous Doppler-limited spectroscopies. The spectra frequencies were corrected using the Doppler-free spectra of iodine molecules; accordingly, the uncertainty was estimated to be below 10 MHz. We determined the spin-rotation constant in the ground state, which agrees with the values reported in the literature obtained based on millimeter-wave data within 1 MHz. This suggests that the relative uncertainty is much smaller. The present study demonstrates the Doppler-free spectroscopy of a polyatomic radical and the broad applicability of the buffer gas cooling method to molecular spectroscopy. CaOH is the only polyatomic molecule that can be directly laser-cooled and trapped in a magneto-optical trap. High-resolution spectroscopy of such molecules is useful for establishing efficient laser cooling schemes of polyatomic molecules.

High-resolution spectroscopy of buffer-gas-cooled phthalocyanine.

For over five decades, studies in the field of chemical physics and physical chemistry have primarily aimed to understand the quantum properties of molecules. However, high-resolution rovibronic spectroscopy has been limited to relatively small and simple systems because translationally and rotationally cold samples have not been prepared in sufficiently large quantities for large and complex systems. In this study, we present high-resolution rovibronic spectroscopy results for large gas-phase molecules, namely, free-base phthalocya-nine (FBPc). The findings suggest that buffer-gas cooling may be effective for large molecules introduced via laser ablation. High-resolution electronic spectroscopy, combined with other experimental and theoretical studies, will be useful in understanding the quantum properties of molecules. These findings also serve as a guide for quantum chemical calculations of large molecules.

Fibrophrys columna gen. nov., sp. nov: A member of the family Amphifilidae.

A novel Diplophrys-like organism, Fibrophrys columna, was isolated from Hiuchigaike Pond in Japan. F. columna showed a nearly orbicular or broadly elliptical cell shape and has fine filamentous, branching ectoplasmic elements emanating from both polar ends of the cell. Cells also contain orange, amber, or colorless lipid bodies. Although its whole cell morphology resembles that of the genus Diplophrys, Fibrophrys is clearly distinct from Diplophrys on the basis of 18S rDNA sequences. Molecular phylogenetic analysis showed a close relationship of F. columna with Amphifila marina, and its sequence is similar to many environmental stramenopile sequences. The cells of F. columna measured 5.0-8.3×5.6-10.3µm and sometimes possessed hernia-like prongs instead of filamentous ectoplasmic elements. An axis-like electron-dense body was observed in the mitochondria. We also studied the ultrastructure of another Fibrophrys strain, Fibrophrys sp. E-1, which is different from the type strain of F. columna. A ladder-like pattern was recognized in the outer part of unidentified cytoplasmic membranes connected with the mitochondria. The unidentified cytoplasmic membranes were connected to the nuclear, lipid body, and mitochondrial outer membranes. We propose a new genus, Fibrophrys, and a new species, F. columna, based on these ultrastructural and molecular features.

Diplophrys mutabilis sp. nov., a new member of Labyrinthulomycetes from freshwater habitats.

Diplophrys is a ubiquitous protist genus belonging to the class Labyrinthulomycetes. Although most members of Labyrinthulomycetes prefer marine habitats, the genus Diplophrys exclusively consists of the freshwater species Diplophrys archeri and Diplophrys parva. To investigate the genus Diplophrys, several novel strains were isolated from Japanese freshwater environments, and cultures of the strains were established. Among the strains, an organism isolated from Lake Nojiri displayed some characteristic features different from that of both D. archeri and D. parva. Thus, we described this strain as a new species, Diplophrys mutabilis. D. mutabilis can be cultured using dried water flea as food. This species had an orbicular to fusiform shape, and it occasionally penetrated prey with prominent cytoplasm. From a molecular phylogenetic analysis based on 18S rRNA sequences, D. mutabilis evidently belongs to Amphitremida, Labyrinthulomycetes. This study suggests that these species form a unique group in Labyrinthulomycetes.