Optical Trapping of Xenon for Beyond Standard Model Physics Searches

Developments in the optical trapping of dielectric particles have paved the way for implementing nm to μm scale objects as mechanical sensors for rare phenomena within and beyond the Standard Model. Solid noble elements are an attractive alternative to the silica spheres typically used in previous work for these levitated sensors. Due to low optical absorption and high achievable purity levels, using noble elements may allow for larger sphere sizes with minimized dipole moments in comparison to silica spheres.  With higher freezing points, heavier noble elements such as xenon can be implemented with relatively simple cryogenics. We will present recent efforts towards developing an experimental setup to trap xenon spheres and planned work to utilize this technology in precision measurement experiments. These systems may find applications in searches for dark matter, measurements of the properties of neutrinos emitted from the radioactively loaded spheres, or tests of the gravitational interactions between delocalized massive objects.