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First Experimental Limit on the Permanent Electric Dipole Moment of the Deuteron

A. Andres1,2,*, V. Hejny2, A. Nass2, N. N. Nikolaev3,†, J. Pretz1,2, F. Rathmann2,‡, V. Shmakova4,‡, J. Slim1,§, F. Abusaif1,2,∥ et al. (JEDI Collaboration)

F. Abusaif1,2,∥, A. Aggarwal5, A. Aksentev6, B. Alberdi1,2,¶, L. Barion4, I. Bekman2,**, M. Beyß1,2, C. Böhme2, B. Breitkreutz2, N. Canale4, G. Ciullo4, S. Dymov4, N.-O. Fröhlich2,∥, R. Gebel2, M. Gaisser1, K. Grigoryev2,*, D. Grzonka2, D. Gu1,7, D. Heberling8, J. Hetzel2,*, D. Hölscher8, O. Javakhishvili9,††, A. Kacharava2, V. Kamerdzhiev2,*, S. Karanth5,‡‡, I. Keshelashvili2,*, A. Kononov4, K. Laihem1,*, A. Lehrach1,2, P. Lenisa4, N. Lomidze10, B. Lorentz7, G. Macharashvili10, A. Magiera5, M. Margos1,7, D. Mchedlishvili10, A. Melnikov6, F. Müller1,2, D. Okropiridze10,§§, A. Pesce2, A. Piccoli4, V. Poncza2, D. Prasuhn2, A. Saleev4,∥∥, D. Shergelashvili10, R. Shankar4, N. Shurkhno2,*, S. Siddique1,2,*, A. Silenko11, H. Soltner12, R. Stassen2, E. J. Stephenson13, H. Ströher2, M. Tabidze10, G. Tagliente14, V. Tempel1,7, Y. Valdau2,*, M. Vitz1,2, T. Wagner1,2,*, A. Wirzba15, A. Wrońska5, P. Wüstner12, and M. Żurek2,¶¶ (JEDI Collaboration)

  • 1III. Physikalisches Institut B, RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany
  • 2Institut für Kernphysik, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
  • 3L.D. Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics, 142432 Chernogolovka, Russia
  • 4University of Ferrara and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, 44100 Ferrara, Italy
  • 5Marian Smoluchowski Institute of Physics, Jagiellonian University, 30348 Cracow, Poland
  • 6Institute for Nuclear Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117312 Moscow, Russia
  • 7GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, Planckstraße 1, 64291 Darmstadt, Germany
  • 8Institut für Hochfrequenztechnik, RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany
  • 9Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Agricultural University of Georgia, 0159 Tbilisi, Georgia
  • 10High Energy Physics Institute, Tbilisi State University, 0186 Tbilisi, Georgia
  • 11Bogoliubov Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, International Intergovernmental Organization Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 141980 Dubna, Russia
  • 12Institute of Technology and Engineering, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
  • 13Indiana University, Department of Physics, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA
  • 14Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare sez. Bari, 70125 Bari, Italy
  • 15Institute for Advanced Simulation, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany

  • *Present address: GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, Planckstr. 1, 64291 Darmstadt, Germany.
  • †Present address: N.N. Bogoliubov Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, 141980 Dubna, Russia.
  • ‡Present address: Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, USA.
  • §Present address: Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, 22607 Hamburg, Germany.
  • ∥Present address: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermannvon-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany.
  • Present address: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institut für Physik, Newton-Straße 15, 12489 Berlin, Germany.
  • **Present address: Institute of Technology and Engineering, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
  • ††Present address: Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, 160 00 Praha 6, Czech Republic.
  • ‡‡Present address: H. Niewodniczański Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, 31342, Kraków, Poland.
  • §§Present address: Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Institut für Experimentalphysik I, 44801 Bochum, Germany.
  • ∥∥Present address: Institut für nachhaltige Wasserstoffwirtschaft, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
  • ¶¶Present address: Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439, USA.
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 241801 – Published 16 June, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/ns3s-ld4k

Abstract

Permanent electric dipole moments (EDMs) provide a sensitive probe of physics beyond the standard model and are directly linked to additional sources of CP violation that could explain the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe. EDM measurements of charged particles in storage rings rely on detecting a small tilt of the invariant spin axis with respect to the ring plane. In this Letter, we present the experimental determination of the invariant spin axis of an ensemble of deuterons in the Cooler Synchrotron (COSY), a conventional magnetic storage ring, using a combination of a radio-frequency Wien filter, a superconducting Siberian snake, and an electron-cooler solenoid. The measurements reveal tilts of a few milliradians, which are dominated by systematic effects. From the observed tilts, we derive the first experimental limit on the deuteron EDM, |dd|<2.5×10−17  e cm(95% C.L.). This result demonstrates the feasibility of using storage rings to search for EDMs of charged stable hadrons and provides a foundation for future dedicated facilities.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 241801– Published 16 June, 2026
  • Received 24 February 2026
  • Accepted 27 April 2026
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