| Title: | The thorium-229 low-energy isomer and the nuclear clock |
| Authors: |
Beeks, Kjeld, Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology, Atominstitut, TU Wien, Vienna, AUSTRIA, ORCID: 0000-0002-8707-6723 Sikorsky, Tomas, Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology, Atominstitut, TU Wien, Vienna, AUSTRIA, ORCID: 0000-0003-0280-0928 Schumm, Thorsten, Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology, Atominstitut, TU Wien, Vienna, AUSTRIA, ORCID: 0000-0002-1066-202X Thielking, Johannes, Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Fachbereich 4.4, Zeit und Frequenz, ORCID: 0000-0002-4511-2407 Okhapkin, Maxim V., Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Fachbereich 4.4, Zeit und Frequenz, ORCID: 0000-0003-0420-3115 Show all authors (6) |
| Contributors: | HostingInstitution: Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), ISNI: 0000 0001 2186 1887 |
| Pages: | 18 |
| Language: | en |
| DOI: | 10.7795/120.20211006 |
| Resource Type: | Text / Article |
| Publisher: | Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) |
| Rights: | Download for personal/private use only, if your national copyright law allows this kind of use. |
| Relationships: | IsVariantFormOf: DOI 10.1038/s42254-021-00286-6 |
| Dates: |
Available: 2021-10-06 Created: 2021-02 |
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| Keywords | Thorium ; Th-229 ; nuclear clock ; fundamental constants |
| Abstract: | The Th-229 nucleus is known to possess an isomeric state at an energy of about 8 eV above the ground state, several orders of magnitude lower than typical nuclear excitation energies. This has inspired a field of low-energy nuclear physics where nuclear transition rates will be influenced by the electron shell. The low energy makes the Th-229 isomer accessible to resonant laser excitation. Realized with laser-cooled trapped thorium ions or with thorium dopant ions in a transparent solid, the nuclear resonance may serve as the reference for an optical clock of very high accuracy. Precision frequency comparisons between such a nuclear clock and conventional atomic clocks will provide sensitivity to effects of hypothetical new physics beyond the standard model. While laser excitation of Th-229 remains an unsolved challenge, recent experiments have provided essential information on the transition energy and relevant nuclear properties. |
| Citation: | Beeks, Kjeld ; Sikorsky, Tomas ; Schumm, Thorsten ; et al. The thorium-229 low-energy isomer and the nuclear clock, 2021. Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB). DOI: https://doi.org/10.7795/120.20211006 |
| Remark: | Original article published in: Nature Reviews Physics 3, 238–248 (2021) |