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Prediction of Nuclear Clock Transitions Frequency Difference between $^{229}$Th$^{3+}$ and $^{229}$Th$^{4+}$ via \textit{ab-initio} Self-Consistent Field Theory

Atomic Physics 2025-05-09 v1

Abstract

The 229Th^{229}\text{Th} isotope is a promising candidate for nuclear clocks, with its transition frequency influenced by electron-induced nuclear frequency shifts. This effect is comparatively small and requires high-precision theoretical calculations. In this work, we employed a non-perturbative multi-configuration Dirac-Hartree-Fock (MCDHF) method, in contrast to the perturbation theory used previously, to resolve the field shift effect. This method accounts for subtle differences in the nuclear potential while considering the 229Th^{229}\text{Th} isotope in both its ground and isomeric states. Consequently, the nuclear transition frequency difference of between 229Th3+^{229}\text{Th}^{3+} and 229Th4+^{229}\text{Th}^{4+} was determined to be 639-639~MHz with computational convergency down to 1~MHz. Given recent precision measured transition frequency of 229Th4+^{229}\text{Th}^{4+}in 229Th^{229}\text{Th}-doped CaF2_2 [Nature 633, 63 (2024)], the transition frequency of isolated 229Th3+^{229}\text{Th}^{3+} is predicted to be 2,020,406,745(1)comp.(77)δr2(100)ext.2,020,406,745 (1)_\text{comp.}(77)_{\delta \langle r^2 \rangle} (100)_\text{ext.}~MHz, with brackets indicating uncertainties stemming from our atomic structure computations, the input nuclear charge radii from nuclear data tables, and the influence of the crystal environment as reported in the literature. This provides valuable guidance for direct laser excitation of isolated 229Th3+^{229}\text{Th}^{3+} based on ion traps experiments.

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Cite

@article{arxiv.2503.15061,
  title  = {Prediction of Nuclear Clock Transitions Frequency Difference between $^{229}$Th$^{3+}$ and $^{229}$Th$^{4+}$ via \textit{ab-initio} Self-Consistent Field Theory},
  author = {Ran Si and Chaofan Shi and Nan Xue and Xiangjin Kong and Chongyang Chen and Bingsheng Tu and Yu-Gang Ma},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2503.15061},
  year   = {2025}
}

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5 pages