MORA

Presentation

The Matter Origin from RadioActivity (MORA) experiment is a precision experiment looking for CP violation in nuclear b-decay. It is using an innovative in-trap-polarization technique to measure with unprecedented accuracy the so-called D correlation in the decay of ²³Mg⁺ and ³⁹Ca⁺ ions. It is presently taking data at the university of Jyväskylä, where the necessary lasers are readily available. It will return to GANIL when the DESIR facility will be ready to host such a setup. At DESIR, MORA will benefit from state-of-the-art instrumentation to purify the intense beams of SPIRAL1 and adequate lasers for the in-trap polarization.

Scientific goals

CP violation is one of the three famous Sakharov conditions needed for explaining the matter – antimatter imbalance observed in the Universe. The precise measurement of the D correlation in the decay of trapped, and laser polarized ²³Mg⁺ and ³⁹Ca⁺ ions aims at complementing the search for Electric Dipole Moments to look for new interactions, which can explain the imbalance. The present limit on a non-zero D correlation is ~2∙10^-4, coming from neutron decay. At DESIR, a sensitivity of 10^-5 is targeted. At this level, the measurement will also become sensitive, for the first time, to the so-called Final State Interaction effects.

Technical specifications

The MORA experimental setup is based on a transparent Paul trap inspired from LPCTrap, where a pulsed laser beam orients the spin of confined ions. See the technical publications on the MORA webpage.

Collaboration

The MORA project is led by GANIL, in close collaboration with LPC Caen, expert lab in the development of such trapping apparatus, and the University of Jyväskylä, which will host MORA until 2028. IJClab is providing support on the theoretical side by the evaluation of the sensitivity of MORA to New Physics, and of the Final State Interaction effects. KU Leuven (Belgium) participates as an expert lab in precision tests of the Standard Model and techniques of laser spectroscopy of radioactive ions.

The MORA project was initially funded by Region Normandy (2018-2020), and then supported by ANR (2020-2025).