Health physics considerations in a university laboratory for laser cooling radium-226 containing molecules

Radioactive molecules containing octupole-deformed radium (Ra) nuclei are predicted to amplify the parity and time-reversal symmetry-violating (PTV) effects through the nuclear Schiff moment by more than six orders of magnitude compared to spherical nuclei in atoms. In the RaX experiment, we plan to use the ²²⁵RaX molecule in an optical dipole trap as a platform to search for new PTV particles in the 10-1000 TeV mass range, which are suggested from observed cosmological mysteries such as the matter-antimatter asymmetry. Due to the short half-life of  ²²⁵Ra (τ_1/2 = 15d), we are developing laser cooling and quantum control methods using ²²⁶Ra (τ_1/2 = 1600yr). As a first step, we are prototyping, in a university laboratory, a cryogenic buffer gas beam (T ~ 2K) of RaX, which is an essential tool for spectroscopy, laser cooling, and optical trapping of molecules. Laser ablation targets of  ²²⁶Ra-containing precursors (~10-100 uCi activity) will be used in initial experiments. In this poster, we present our experimental strategies for implementing the primary health physics considerations, radioactivity from radium and daughter radon production. Our protocols employ charcoal filters, cryopumping, and negative-pressure atmospheric containment around the beamline. We also identify a pathway toward handling ~1 mCi samples of radium in a university lab environment. Our work aims to enable laser cooling and trapping of ²²⁶Ra-containing molecules, a key step toward nuclear Schiff moment measurements with ²²⁵Ra-containing molecules at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB).