Related papers: A Single-Ion Nuclear Clock for Metrology at the 19…
We review a number of highly charged ions which have optical transitions suitable for building extremely accurate atomic clocks. This includes ions from Hf$^{12+}$ to U$^{34+}$, which have the $4f^{12}$ configuration of valence electrons,…
An overview over the current status of the development of a nuclear clock based on the state of lowest known nuclear excitation energy in $^{229}$Th is presented. The text is especially written for the interested reader without any…
Iridium ions near $4f$-$5s$ level crossings are the leading candidates for a new type of atomic clocks with a high projected accuracy and a very high sensitivity to the temporal variation of the fine structure constant $\alpha$. To identify…
Atomic clocks have been transformational in science and technology, leading to innovations such as global positioning, advanced communications, and tests of fundamental constant variation. Next-generation optical atomic clocks can extend…
We calculate the A and B hyperfine constants for the low-lying states of 229Th3+ using a high-precision relativistic all-order approach. By combining these calculations with measurements of the 6d and 5f hyperfine constants [C. J. Campbell…
Level crossings in the ground state of ions occur when the nuclear charge Z and ion charge Z_ion are varied along an isoelectronic sequence until the two outermost shells are nearly degenerate. We examine all available level crossings in…
Highly charged ions (HCIs) are insensitive to external perturbations and are attractive for the development of ultrastable clocks. However, only a few HCI candidates are known to provide optical clock transitions. In this Letter, we show…
We investigate the feasibility of precision frequency metrology with large ion crystals. For clock candidates with a negative differential static polarisability, we show that micromotion effects should not impede the performance of the…
$^{229}$Th is the only nucleus currently under investigation for the development of a nuclear optical clock (NOC) of ultra-high accuracy. The insufficient knowledge of the first nuclear excitation energy of $^{229}$Th has so far hindered…
We report calculations designed to assess the ultimate precision of an atomic clock based on the 578 nm $6 ^1S_0 --> 6 ^3P^o_0$ transition in Yb atoms confined in an optical lattice trap. We find that this transition has a natural linewidth…
A method is proposed to determine the $M1$ nuclear transition amplitude and hence the lifetime of the "nuclear clock transition" between the low-lying ($\sim 8$ eV) first isomeric state and the ground state of $^{229}$Th from a measurement…
We propose 10 highly-charged ions as candidates for the development of next generation atomic clocks, quantum information, and search for $\alpha$-variation. They have long-lived metastable states with transition frequencies to the ground…
Extra-laboratory atomic clocks are necessary for a wide array of applications (e.g. satellite-based navigation and communication). Building upon existing vapor cell and laser technologies, we describe an optical atomic clock, designed…
We identify two metastable excited states in Sm$ ^{10+} $ highly charged ion as candidates for high accuracy optical clocks. Several atomic properties relevant to optical clock development are calculated using relativistic many-body…
The nuclear transition between the ground and the low-energy isomeric state in the ^{229}Th nucleus is of interest due to its high sensitivity to a hypothetical temporal variation of the fundamental constants and a possibility to build a…
We have produced laser-cooled Wigner crystals of 229Th3+ in a linear Paul trap. The magnetic dipole (A) and electric quadrupole (B) hyperfine constants for four low-lying electronic levels and the relative isotope shifts with respect to…
We show that it is possible to significantly reduce quadrupole and tensor polarizability shifts of a clock transition by operating at a judiciously chosen field-insensitive point. In some cases shifts are almost completely eliminated making…
Optical atomic clocks represent the state-of-the-art in the frontier of modern measurement science. In this article we provide a detailed review on the development of optical atomic clocks that are based on trapped single ions and many…
Multi-ion optical clocks offer the possibility of overcoming the low signal-to-noise ratio of single-ion clocks, while still providing low systematic uncertainties. We present simultaneous spectroscopy of up to four ${}^{115}$In${}^+$ clock…
The recent demonstration of laser excitation of the $\approx 8$ eV isomeric state of Thorium-229 is a significant step towards a nuclear clock. The low excitation energy likely results from a cancellation between electromagnetic and strong…