Related papers: 229Th-doped nonlinear optical crystals for compact…
We report the results of a direct search for the $^{229}$Th ($I^{p} = 3/2^+\leftarrow 5/2^+$) nuclear isomeric transition, performed by exposing $^{229}$Th-doped LiSrAlF$_6$ crystals to tunable vacuum-ultraviolet synchrotron radiation and…
Quantum state-resolved spectroscopy of the low energy thorium-229 nuclear transition was recently achieved. The five allowed transitions within the electric quadrupole structure were measured to the kilohertz level in a calcium fluoride…
Solid-state $^{229}$Th nuclear clocks are set to provide new opportunities for precision metrology and fundamental physics. Taking advantage of a nuclear transition's inherent low sensitivity to its environment, orders of magnitude more…
Electronic bridge mechanisms driving the $^{229}$Th nuclear clock transition in the vacuum-ultraviolet-transparent crystals $^{229}$Th:LiCAF (LiCaAlF$_6$) and $^{229}$Th:LiSAF (LiSrAlF$_6$) are investigated theoretically. Due to…
Optical atomic clocks have demonstrated revolutionary advances in precision timekeeping, but their applicability to the real world is critically dependent on whether such clocks can operate outside a laboratory setting. The challenge to…
The 7.6-eV-isomer of Thorium-229 offers the opportunity to perform high resolution laser spectroscopy of a nuclear transition. We give a brief review of the investigations of this isomer. The nuclear resonance connecting ground state and…
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…
We aim to perform direct optical spectroscopy of the Th-229 nuclear isomer to measure its energy and lifetime, and to demonstrate optical coupling to the nucleus. To this end, we develop Th-doped CaF2 crystals, which are transparent at the…
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:…
This letter presents the principles and techniques of active optical clock, a special laser combining the laser physics of one-atom laser, bad-cavity gas laser, super-cavity stabilized laser and optical atomic clock. As an example, a…
High-power infrared laser systems with broadband tunability are of great importance due to their wide range of applications in spectroscopy and free-space communications. These systems require nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals for wavelength…
We propose to generate continuous-wave vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) laser light at 148.4 nm using four-wave mixing in cadmium vapor for precision spectroscopy of the Th-229 isomer transition. Due to the large transition matrix elements of…
$^{229}$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…
The low-lying isomeric state of $^{229}$Th provides unique opportunities for high-resolution laser spectroscopy of the atomic nucleus. We determine the energy of this isomeric state by taking the absolute energy difference between the…
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…
We propose a solid-state based superradiance laser which is almost insensitive to the cavity mirror vibration. Therefore, it can compete with the best frequency-stable local oscillators. The long coherence time and the large optical density…
The isomeric first excited state of the isotope 229Th exhibits the lowest nuclear excitation energy in the whole landscape of known atomic nuclei. For a long time this energy was reported in the literature as 3.5(5) eV, however, a new…
The nucleus of 229Thorium presents a unique isomer state of very low energy and long lifetime, current estimates are around 7.8 eV and seconds to hours respectively. This nuclear transitions therefore is a promising candidate for a novel…
The recent laser excitation of the low-lying Th-229 isomer transition is starting a revolution in ultralight dark matter searches. The enhanced sensitivity of this transition to the large class of dark matter models dominantly coupling to…
Thorium-229 is a unique case in nuclear physics: it presents a metastable first excited state Th-229m, just a few electronvolts above the nuclear ground state. This so-called isomer is accessible by VUV lasers, which allows transferring the…