Jason Huskey
MIT Department: Physics
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Ronal Garcia Ruiz
Research Supervisor: Mathieu Flayol
Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Berkeley
Website:
Biography
Jason is a rising third-year student from Palm Springs, CA, studying math and physics atUC Berkeley. At MIT, he works in the lab of Exotic Molecules and Atoms under the guidance of Professor Ronald Garcia Ruiz. His field of interest is experimental nuclear physics, and his project focuses on the laser spectroscopy of species of the radioactive metal thorium, particularly on precision measurements in exploration of Standard Model symmetry violations.In Berkeley, he is the lead calculus tutor at the Student Learning Center, an officer for theSociety of Physics Students, and a SEED Honors Scholar (STEM Excellence through Equity and Diversity). After college, Jason plans to pursue a PhD in physics; to merge this interest with his love for teaching, he hopes to continue his work as a university professor. Outside of academics, he likes to read and play basketball
Abstract
Exploring Radioactive Thorium Nuclei through Laser Spectroscopy
Jason Huskey1, Mathieu Flayol2, and Ronald Garcia Ruiz2
1Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley
2Laboratory for Nuclear Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
As atomic nuclei deviate from their stable forms, they become more short-lived, posing experimental challenges and revealing unfamiliar shapes and electromagnetic structures. These exotic nuclei are also sensitive to symmetry violations (namely time-reversal and parity), which have possible implications for particle physics. Our experiment probes the structure of the 232Th nucleus using resonance ionization spectroscopy techniques. In a vacuum chamber, we ablate a ThF4 crystal target with a pulsed laser, cool and bunch the released ions in a radio-frequency quadrupole trap, and accelerate these ions with a high voltage power supply toward the final detector. Then we use a two-laser scheme to excite and dissociate ThF+ ions, scan for the resonance frequency, and resolve the molecule’s hyperfine structure; this gives access to thorium’s electromagnetic nuclear properties and forms a benchmark for the lab’s upcoming experiment with the more unstable 229Th at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB). These precision measurements will offer new experimental insights into radioactive nuclei, providing constraints on nuclear models as well as pathways to exploring physics beyond the Standard Model.
