Cold radioactive molecules offer a tabletop route to new physics

Physics World reports that researchers at Caltech, Johns Hopkins, and Michigan State have developed a way to conduct sophisticated physics experiments using equipment that fits inside a single university laboratory room—a major departure from particle accelerator experiments. The breakthrough involves stabilizing radioactive molecules containing radium, cooling them to four Kelvin, and analyzing their structure with extreme precision to search for violations of symmetry laws—clues to why the early universe had more matter than antimatter. The team solved a practical challenge by "caramelizing" radioactive radium-226 in xylitol sweetener, making it safe to handle and transport in small quantities. They then cooled these radium-containing molecules and used lasers to bond them to other compounds, allowing them to perform the first-ever high-precision spectroscopic analysis of such molecules. Lead researcher Nick Hutzler noted that this approach demonstrates university laboratories can safely manage radioactive materials, opening the door to similar studies elsewhere. Though challenges remain—including cooling these molecules to even colder temperatures and extending the technique to other radioactive isotopes—the spectroscopic results represent a critical milestone in a tabletop search for physics beyond the Standard Model.

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