Kia Boon Ng

Education Background

Kia Boon Ng received his PhD in Physics from JILA, University of Colorado Boulder, where he worked under Eric Cornell and Jun Ye. His doctoral research focused on precision measurements and quantum control in atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) systems, with applications to electric dipole moment (EDM) searches.

He then carried out postdoctoral research at TRIUMF as part of the RadMol collaboration, where he led experimental work on radioactive molecular ions and developed quantum control techniques for precision tests of fundamental symmetries. He was awarded a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Research Themes

Ng's research focuses on precision tests of fundamental symmetries using quantum-controlled atomic and molecular systems, with an emphasis on electric dipole moment (EDM) searches and the role of nuclear structure in amplifying symmetry-violating effects. By combining techniques from atomic, molecular and optical (AMO) physics with radioactive nuclei, his work aims to probe physics beyond the Standard Model in systems with enhanced sensitivity to CP-violating interactions.

His current and planned research program includes:

1. EDM and Schiff-moment searches in radioactive molecules
   - A central focus of his research is the measurement of permanent electric dipole moments in radioactive molecular ions, with particular emphasis on systems such as ThF⁺. These experiments target the nuclear Schiff moment, which provides a sensitive probe of time-reversal and CP-violating physics beyond the Standard Model.
   - Radioactive nuclei with octupole deformation are predicted to exhibit strongly enhanced Schiff moments, making them exceptional laboratories for symmetry tests. By exploiting quantum control and precision spectroscopy in trapped molecular ions, his research aims to achieve new levels of sensitivity in EDM searches and connect atomic-scale observables to underlying nuclear and particle physics.
2. Quantum control of radioactive molecular ions
   - A key enabling component of this program is the development of quantum control techniques for radioactive molecular ions. This includes production, trapping, and coherent manipulation of short-lived molecular species, where low production rates and nuclear instability require highly efficient experimental architectures.
   - These efforts extend established AMO techniques into regimes where nuclear physics constraints become central, creating a new experimental interface between precision measurement science and rare-isotope physics.
3. Nuclear structure effects in precision symmetry tests
   - A complementary research direction focuses on the nuclear-structure input required to interpret EDM and Schiff-moment measurements. This includes understanding nuclear deformation, magnetization distributions, and other many-body effects that influence the mapping between atomic observables and fundamental CP-violating parameters.
   - Where possible, the program integrates or motivates low-energy nuclear spectroscopy measurements that constrain theoretical uncertainties in heavy, octupole-deformed nuclei relevant for EDM searches.
4. Broader precision tests and isotope-dependent effects
   - The experimental platform developed for EDM searches enables additional precision tests of fundamental physics, including isotope-dependent studies of atomic structure, hyperfine anomalies, and precision spectroscopy of exotic nuclei.
   - These measurements provide complementary probes of nuclear structure and may be extended to searches for new short-range interactions through precision comparisons across isotopic chains.
   

Hightlights

• Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), 2025