An electron electric dipole moment (eEDM) search using laser-coolable triatomics such as YbOH is one of the most sensitive probes for physics beyond the standard model. The eEDM-induced energy shift is proportional to the polarization (P) of the molecule. Similarly to diatomics with an ω-doubling structure, it was assumed that for triatomics with an l-doubling structure, related to the vibrational angular momentum, P can be easily saturated to almost 100% with a moderate external electric field. We developed a method for the calculation of the properties of triatomic molecules and applied it to a calculation of P of YbOH174 in the first excited v=1 bending mode. Calculations showed that most of the levels reach less than 50% efficiency. We showed that this fact is related to the Hund's case b coupling scheme of YbOH. As the coupling scheme (for ω=1/2 molecules) approaches the a (or c) case, polarization increases up to 100%. The results of our calculations should be used for the correct extracting of the eEDM value from YbOH experiments and similar calculations are required for other molecules.

Original languageEnglish
Article numberL050801
JournalPhysical Review A
Volume105
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2022

ID: 95733750