Probing the electroweak structure of nuclei with rare atoms and molecules
Abstract
Precision experiments of atoms and molecules have become a powerful probe of the electroweak structure of atomic nuclei and of physics beyond the Standard Model. We review how the interaction between a nucleus and its surrounding bound electrons can be exploited to precisely measure the electromagnetic, parity-violating, and CP-violating properties of nuclei and their fundamental constituents. We focus on rare, unstable isotopes, surveying the experimental techniques and facilities developed in recent years that have extended these measurements to the most exotic regions of the nuclear chart. Recent advances in the precision control and interrogation of single molecules, together with direct laser excitation of nuclear transitions, are opening new frontiers in nuclear and particle physics. At the same time, progress in nuclear theory, machine learning, and high-performance computing is strengthening the connection between our microscopic description of nature and laboratory observables. In many cases, the precision with which nuclear and particle physics properties can be extracted is now limited not by experiment, but by the molecular, atomic, or nuclear theory required to interpret the measurements. This challenge presents a major opportunity for combined theoretical and experimental advances that will enable future discoveries.
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BibTeX
@misc{udrescu2026probing,
title = {{Probing the electroweak structure of nuclei with rare atoms and molecules}},
author = {Silviu-Marian Udrescu and Antoine Belley and Jason D. Holt and Gilad Perez and Ronald F. Garcia Ruiz},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2608.18219},
eprint = {2608.18219},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.18219},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Probing the electroweak structure of nuclei with rare atoms and molecules
AU - Silviu-Marian Udrescu
AU - Antoine Belley
AU - Jason D. Holt
AU - Gilad Perez
AU - Ronald F. Garcia Ruiz
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2608.18219
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.18219
AB - Precision experiments of atoms and molecules have become a powerful probe of the electroweak structure of atomic nuclei and of physics beyond the Standard Model. We review how the interaction between a nucleus and its surrounding bound electrons can be exploited to precisely measure the electromagnetic, parity-violating, and CP-violating properties of nuclei and their fundamental constituents. We focus on rare, unstable isotopes, surveying the experimental techniques and facilities developed in recent years that have extended these measurements to the most exotic regions of the nuclear chart. Recent advances in the precision control and interrogation of single molecules, together with direct laser excitation of nuclear transitions, are opening new frontiers in nuclear and particle physics. At the same time, progress in nuclear theory, machine learning, and high-performance computing is strengthening the connection between our microscopic description of nature and laboratory observables. In many cases, the precision with which nuclear and particle physics properties can be extracted is now limited not by experiment, but by the molecular, atomic, or nuclear theory required to interpret the measurements. This challenge presents a major opportunity for combined theoretical and experimental advances that will enable future discoveries.
ER -