Accurate Molecular spectroscopy in the THz – METEORIT

Detecting a temporal variation of the fundamental constants would challenge the standard model. Molecular absorption spectra are considered excellent probes to reveal such a variation. Some transition frequencies are expected to be shifted up or down in frequency when energy levels are very close together. These predictions are based on spectroscopic data that are still too imprecise. This is why the METEORIT project aims at acquiring and analyzing the spectra of candidate molecules with an unprecedented accuracy and precision. For this purpose, an innovative THz spectrometer covering continuously the range 0 to 5 THz will be built and intensively exploited. We will thus lay a solid foundation for the search for new physics using molecular spectrometry.