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Fundamental Symmetry Lab
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The lab searches for the breaking of the universe's symmetry using heavy atoms cooled by lasers.
AboutAbout the lab
Why do we exist in this world?
The Fundamental Symmetry Lab investigates the mystery of why the amounts of matter and antimatter are unbalanced,
through experiments.
It captures francium atoms, produced artificially in an accelerator, by laser cooling,
and searches for the electron's permanent electric dipole moment.
Because francium produces a strong electric field inside the atom, it acts as a microscope that magnifies the effect of symmetry breaking.
The lab aims to approach the origin of the matter-dominated universe and the identity of dark matter through the breaking of fundamental symmetries.
Key terms
- CP symmetry
- The property that the laws of physics remain unchanged even when the operation of exchanging charge and the operation of mirror reflection are performed at the same time
- Permanent electric dipole moment
- A quantity representing the offset between positive and negative charge. If a particle has one, time-reversal symmetry is broken
- Laser cooling
- A technique that shines laser light of a specific wavelength on atoms to suppress their motion and cool them rapidly
ResearchResearch themes
The lab uses accelerators and lasers to produce cold heavy elements, and carries out quantum control and precision measurements. It aims to elucidate the breaking of fundamental symmetries, which is linked to the origin of the matter-dominated universe, the identity of dark matter, and the origin of life.
CP Symmetry Violation
One of the conditions for matter and antimatter to become unbalanced is that CP symmetry is broken. The lab examines whether the laws of physics change when charge is exchanged and the system is reflected in a mirror.
Search for Permanent Electric Dipole Moments
If an electron, atom, or neutron has a permanent electric dipole moment along its spin, time-reversal symmetry is broken. No finite value has been found for any particle so far, and the search continues.
Origin of Permanent Electric Dipole Moments
A permanent electric dipole moment is thought to arise from quantum corrections, in which unknown elementary particles appear and disappear in the vacuum. Its magnitude carries information such as the masses of these unknown particles.
Amplifying Symmetry Breaking with Francium
Francium produces a stronger electric field inside the atom than light elements do. Using francium atoms produced at the RIKEN accelerator, the lab amplifies the electron's permanent electric dipole moment and observes it as if through a microscope.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Fundamental Symmetry Lab consist of faculty, technical staff, visiting researchers, doctoral and master's students, special research students from other universities and overseas, and collaborators.As of 2026
- ProfessorYasuhiro SakemiPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorHiroki Nagahama
- Specially Appointed ResearcherRyota Matsushita
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RelatedLabs similar to Fundamental Symmetry Lab
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Report an errorAbout the images
For images provided to us or used with permission, the source is listed on each line. Wikimedia Commons images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab (they are cropped). Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Cold atoms experiment 04” Tomasz Kawalec / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Ushiroda Lab (Interdisciplinary Science Unit, The University of Tokyo / KEK Belle Group)): “SuperKEKB accelerator and Belle II detector, near the collision point” 高エネルギー加速器研究機構 / © KEK
- Related lab (Liang Lab): “NuclideMap stitched 2” NuclideMap.PNG: The viewer derivative work: Neokortex (talk) / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Saito Lab): “J-PARC Surface Muon Beamline” Kestrel / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Yako Lab (CNS Experimental Nuclear Physics)): “RIKEN Superconducting Ring Cyclotron P4213478” Kestrel / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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