Testing the validity of Bose-Einstein statistics in molecules

Year: 2015

Authors: Cancio Pastor P., Galli I., Giusfredi G., Mazzotti D., De Natale P.

Autors Affiliation: Istituto Nazionale di Ottica (INO)-CNR, European Laboratory for Non-linear Spectroscopy (LENS), Via Carrara 1, Sesto Fiorentino FI, 50019, Italy

Abstract: The search for small violations of the validity of the symmetrization postulate and of the spin-statistics connection (SSC) has been addressed in the last four decades by experimental tests performed in different physical systems of identical fermions or bosons. In parallel and consequently, theories extending the quantum mechanics to a more general level have been proposed to explain such possible violations. In this paper, we present the most stringent test to a possible violation of the SSC under permutation of the bosonic O-16 nuclei in the (CO2)-C-12-O-16 molecule. An upper limit of 3.8 x 10(-12) for an SSC-anomalous CO2 molecule is obtained using saturated-absorption cavity ring-down spectroscopy in the SSC-forbidden (00(0)1-00(0)0) R(25) rovibrational transition of (CO2)-C-12-O-16 at a 4.25-mu m wavelength. Quantum mechanics implications of this result are discussed in the frame of the q-mutator theory. Finally, the perspective of stringent experimental tests of the symmetrization postulate in molecules that contain three or more identical nuclei is discussed.

Journal/Review: PHYSICAL REVIEW A

Volume: 92 (6)      Pages from: 063820-1  to: 063820-7

More Information: We acknowledge S. A. Tashkun and V. I. Perevalov for computing CO2 transition frequencies and intensities around the targeted transition. This work was partially funded by ESFRI Roadmap, project \”Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI)\”, Italian Ministry of University and Research.
KeyWords: Bosons; Light measurement; Quantum theory; Spectroscopy; Statistical mechanics, Bose-Einstein statistics; Experimental test; Most stringent tests; Physical systems; Rovibrational transitions; Saturated absorptions; Spin-statistics connection; Upper limits, Molecules
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.92.063820

Citations: 11
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