Constraints on Short-Range Spin-Dependent Interactions from Scalar Spin-Spin Coupling in Deuterated Molecular Hydrogen

A comparison between existing nuclear magnetic resonance measurements and calculations of the scalar spin-spin interaction (J coupling) in deuterated molecular hydrogen yields stringent constraints on anomalous spin-dependent potentials between nucleons at the atomic scale (similar to 1 angstrom). The dimensionless coupling constant g(P)(p)g(P)(N)/4 pi associated with the exchange of pseudoscalar (axionlike) bosons between nucleons is constrained to be less than 3.6 x 10(-7) for boson masses in the range of 5 keV, representing improvement by a factor of 100 over previous constraints. The dimensionless coupling constant g(A)(p)g(A)(N)/4 pi associated with the exchange of an axial-vector boson between nucleons is constrained to be g(A)(p)g(A)(N)=4 pi < 1.3 x 10(-19) for bosons of mass less than or similar to 1000 eV, improving constraints at this distance scale by a factor of 100 for proton-proton couplings and more than 8 orders of magnitude for neutron-proton couplings. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.040402