PIRSA:24110072

Laser Excitation of the Th-229 Nucleus - Towards a Nuclear Clock

(2024). Laser Excitation of the Th-229 Nucleus - Towards a Nuclear Clock. Perimeter Institute. https://pirsa.org/24110072

Laser Excitation of the Th-229 Nucleus - Towards a Nuclear Clock. Perimeter Institute, Nov. 12, 2024, https://pirsa.org/24110072 

          @misc{ pirsa_PIRSA:24110072,
            doi = {10.48660/24110072},
            url = {https://pirsa.org/24110072},
            author = {},
            keywords = {Particle Physics},
            language = {en},
            title = {Laser Excitation of the Th-229 Nucleus - Towards a Nuclear Clock},
            publisher = {Perimeter Institute},
            year = {2024},
            month = {nov},
            note = {PIRSA:24110072 see, \url{https://pirsa.org}}
          }
Johannes Tiedau
Talk number
PIRSA:24110072
Collection
Talk Type
Subject
Abstract

The thorium-229 nucleus has a unique, low-lying isometric state allowing for laser spectroscopic investigations that are otherwise only accessible in electronic transitions. Here, we report on the first resonant laser excitation of the Th-229 nucleus. The fluorescence signal is observed from two Th-229 doped CaF2 crystals that enable us to determine the center frequency of 2020.409(7) THz corresponding to 148.3821(5) nm of the nuclear transition. The fluorescence lifetime in the crystal is 630(15) s, corresponding to an isomer half-life of 1740(50) s for a nucleus isolated in vacuum. These results pave the way towards high-resolution nuclear laser spectroscopy of Th-229 and an optical nuclear clock with high sensitivity in fundamental tests. This is work done in a cooperation of PTB and TU Wien: J. Tiedau et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 132, 182501 (2024)