Hunting for New Physics with Crystal Spins

Within yttrium silicate orthovanadate (YSO), paramagnetic ions exhibit lifted degeneracy in electron spin sublevels due to crystal interactions, creating a structure of Kramers pairs and hyperfine manifolds accessible via optical transition-a phenomenon suggesting that control and probing of these ions are intrinsically linked to the material’s energetic landscape.

A novel approach leveraging the unique properties of paramagnetic ions in crystals promises to sharpen the search for time-reversal symmetry violation and unveil physics beyond the Standard Model.