Driving Forbidden Vibrational Transitions in Molecular Oxygen

Some new physics models, such as for dark matter and quantum gravity, predict changes to fundamental constants. Thus, precise measurements of change in these constants can aid in our understanding of physics outside the Standard Model. The molecule O$_2^+$ has vibrational transitions that are sensitive to changes in the proton-to-electron mass ratio, $\mu$. These vibrational transitions have narrow linewidths which allows for precise measurements of potential changes in $\mu$. I will give a brief overview of our experiment with some discussion of our most recent progress in probing the vibrational transition.