Related papers: Highly-charged ions for atomic clocks, quantum inf…
The first three electronically excited states in the alkaline-earth-metal atoms magnesium, calcium, and strontium comprise the (nsnp) triplet P^o_J (J=0,1,2) fine-structure manifold. All three states are metastable and are of interest for…
Optical clocks represent the most precise experimental devices, finding application in fields spanning from frequency metrology to fundamental physics. Recently, the first highly charged ions (HCI) based optical clock was demonstrated using…
Radiation from the highly-charged ions contained in the plasma of Electron-Cyclotron Resonance Ion Sources constitutes a very bright source of X-rays. Because the ions have a relatively low kinetic energy ($\approx 1$ eV) transitions can be…
Atom-like quantum systems in solids have been proposed as a compact alternative for atomic clocks, but realizing the potential of solid-state technology will requires an architecture design which overcomes traditional limitations such as…
For the past 15 years, tremendous progress within the fields of laser stabilization, optical frequency combs and atom cooling and trapping have allowed the realization of optical atomic clocks with unrivaled performances. These instruments…
Mendeleev's periodic table successfully groups atomic elements according to their chemical and spectroscopic properties. However, it becomes less sufficient in describing the electronic properties of highly charged ions (HCIs) in which many…
Optical atomic clocks are poised to redefine the SI second, thanks to stability and accuracy more than one hundred times better than the current microwave atomic clock standard. However, the best optical clocks have not seen their…
Atomic clocks use atomic transitions as frequency references. The susceptibility of the atomic transition to external fields limits clock stability and introduces systematic frequency shifts. Here, we propose to realize an atomic clock that…
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…
In the last ten years extraordinary results in time and frequency metrology have been demonstrated. Frequency-stabilization techniques for continuous-wave lasers and femto-second optical frequency combs have enabled a rapid development of…
Dependence of transition frequencies on the fine structure constant $\alpha=e^2/\hbar c$ is calculated for several many-electron systems which are used or planned to be used in the laboratory search for the time variation of the fine…
The electronic structure of the ground and some excited states of neutral atoms with the nuclear charge numbers $1\leq Z \leq 10$ and their single positive ions are investigated by means of our 2D mesh Hartree-Fock method for strong…
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 propose a new frequency standard based on a $4f^{14} 6s6p~ ^3\!P_0 - 4f^{13} 6s^2 5d ~(J=2)$ transition in neutral Yb. This transition has a potential for high stability and accuracy and the advantage of the highest sensitivity among…
We present a review of recent works devoted to the variation of the fine structure constant alpha, strong interaction and fundamental masses. There are some hints for the variation in quasar absorption spectra, Big Bang nucleosynthesis, and…
We study a wide range of neutral atoms and ions suitable for ultra-precise atomic optical clocks with naturally suppressed black body radiation shift of clock transition frequency. Calculations show that scalar polarizabilities of clock…
The present work tests the suitability of the narrow transitions $7s \ ^2S_{1/2} \to 6d ^2D_{3/2}$ and $7s ^2S_{1/2} \to 6d ^2D_{5/2}$ in Ra$^+$ for optical frequency standard studies. Our calculations of the lifetimes of the metastable…
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…
Optical clocks are the apotheosis of precision measurement, but they require frequent maintenance by scientists. The supporting laser systems are a particularly demanding component of these instruments. To reduce complexity and increase…
Accurate measurements of different transition frequencies between atomic levels of the electronic and hyperfine structure over time are used to investigate temporal variations of the fine structure constant $\alpha$ and the…