English

Nuclear clock based on the Th V ion

Atomic Physics 2025-08-05 v2

Abstract

We propose that a nuclear clock based on the Th V ion can surpass the accuracy of clocks built with other thorium ions. The Th4+^{4+} ion has a rigid closed-shell core with zero total electron angular momentum, suppressing frequency shifts from black-body radiation and stray external fields that act mainly on electrons. We calculate the energy shift of the nuclear clock transition frequency in 229^{229}Th due to the Coulomb field of atomic electrons and find a relative frequency difference of 2.8×1072.8 \times 10^{-7} between Th IV and Th V - twelve orders of magnitude larger than the projected 101910^{-19} fractional uncertainty of a nuclear clock. We also perform calculations for Th V energy levels, ionization potential, static polarizability, and the black-body radiation shift of the nuclear line. Additionally, we determine the nuclear transition frequencies in two thorium ions and neutral atom: ωN=2,020,406.964(70)\omega_N=2,020,406.964(70) GHz in Th III, ωN=2,020,408.264(100)\omega_N=2,020,408.264(100) GHz in Th II, and ωN=2,020,408.364(100)\omega_N=2,020,408.364(100) GHz in Th I.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2503.04081,
  title  = {Nuclear clock based on the Th V ion},
  author = {V. A. Dzuba and V. V. Flambaum and E. Peik},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2503.04081},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

7 pages, 5 tables

R2 v1 2026-06-28T22:08:40.854Z