Related papers: Performance of a 229 Thorium solid-state nuclear c…
The generation, controls, and storage of the gravitationally induced photon echo using the 8.4 eV Thorium-229 nuclear clock transition on Earth are theoretically investigated. With its exceptionally narrow linewidth of approximately 1 mHz…
The 7.6(5) eV nuclear magnetic-dipole transition in a single 229Th3+ ion may provide the foundation for an optical clock of superb accuracy. A virtual clock transition composed of stretched states within the 5F5/2 electronic ground level of…
The recent laser excitation of the 229Th isomeric transition in a solid-state host opens the door for a portable solid-state nuclear optical clock. However, at present the vacuum-ultraviolet laser systems required for clock operation are…
Solid-state $^{229}$Th nuclear clocks require a host material whose band gap is larger than the 8.4 eV nuclear transition energy. As such, excitation of the $^{229}$Th nuclear state has so far only been demonstrated in metal fluorides,…
We review the ideas and concepts for a clock that is based on a radiative transition in the nucleus rather than in the electron shell. This type of clock offers advantages like an insensitivity against field-induced systematic frequency…
We present a novel method for engineering an optical clock transition that is robust against external field fluctuations and is able to overcome limits resulting from field inhomogeneities. The technique is based on the application of…
The radioisotope Th-229 is renowned for its extraordinarily low-energy, long-lived nuclear first-excited state. This isomeric state can be excited by VUV lasers and the transition from the ground state has been proposed as a reference…
We report a candidate with unique advantages in the cultivation of solid-state nuclear clock material, Th:SrF2 crystal. It not only has a segregation coefficient close to 1, which can achieve highly efficient and uniform doping of Th, but…
The first nuclear excited state of $^{229}$Th offers the unique opportunity for laser-based optical control of a nucleus. Its exceptional properties allow for the development of a nuclear optical clock which offers a complementary…
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 study thorium-doped CaF$_2$ crystals as a possible platform for optical spectroscopy of the Th-229 nuclear isomer transition. We anticipate two major sources of background signal that might cover the nuclear spectroscopy signal:…
Today's most precise time and frequency measurements are performed with optical atomic clocks. However, it has been proposed that they could potentially be outperformed by a nuclear clock, which employs a nuclear transition instead of the…
$^{229}$Th is the only known nucleus with an excited state that offers the possibility for a direct laser excitation using existing laser technology. Its excitation energy has been measured indirectly to be 7.8(5) eV ($\approx$160 nm). The…
Peik and Tamm [Europhys. Lett. 61, 181 (2003)] proposed a nuclear clock based on the isomeric transition between the ground state and the first excited state of thorium-229. This transition was recognized as a potentially sensitive probe of…
Clocks based on nuclear isomer transitions promise exceptional stability and precision. The low transition energy of the thorium-229 isomer makes it an ideal candidate, as it has been excited by a vacuum-ultraviolet laser and is highly…
The 229Th nucleus possesses a unique low-frequency transition at 8.4 eV, which is being considered for the development of an extremely accurate nuclear clock. We investigate an electronic bridge process in the Th III ion, where nuclear…
The 8 eV first nuclear excited state in $^{229}$Th is a candidate for implementing an nuclear clock. Doping $^{229}$Th into ionic crystals such as CaF$_2$ is expected to suppress non-radiative decay, enabling nuclear spectroscopy and the…
The isotope $^{229}$Th is the only nucleus known to possess an excited state $^{229m}$Th in the energy range of a few electron volts, a transition energy typical for electrons in the valence shell of atoms, but about four orders of…
The low-energy, long-lived isomer in $^{229}$Th, first studied in the 1970s as an exotic feature in nuclear physics, continues to inspire a multidisciplinary community of physicists. Using the nuclear resonance frequency, determined by the…
We demonstrate how to realize an optical clock with neutral atoms that is competitive to the currently best single ion optical clocks in accuracy and superior in stability. Using ultracold atoms in a Ca optical frequency standard we show…