Nuclear clocks based on resonant excitation of gamma-transitions

Abstract

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 shifts and the opportunity to obtain high stability from interrogating many nuclei in the solid state. Experimental work concentrates on the low-energy (about 8 eV) isomeric transition in Th-229. We review the status of the experiments that aim at a direct optical observation of this transition and outline the plans for high-resolution laser spectroscopy experiments.

Invited review paper for Comptes Rendus de Physique, thematic issue 'The Measurement of Time'

References in corpus (7)

• Enhanced effect of temporal variation of the fine structure constant in diatomic molecules
• Proposal for a Nuclear Gamma-Ray Laser of Optical Range
• Performance of a 229 Thorium solid-state nuclear clock
• Excitation of the isomeric ^{229m}Th nuclear state via an electronic bridge process in ^{229}Th^+
• On Th229 and time-dependent fundamental constants
• Coherence-enhanced optical determination of the ${}^{229}$Th isomeric transition
• Splitting Sensitivity of the Ground and 7.6 eV Isomeric States of 229Th

Cited by in corpus (13)

• Direct detection of the 229Th nuclear clock transition
• The status of varying constants: a review of the physics, searches and implications
• Measurement of the ${}^{229}$Th isomer energy with a magnetic micro-calorimeter
• A laser excitation scheme for ${}^{229\text{m}}$Th
• Excitation of ${}^{229m}$Th at Inelastic Scattering of Low Energy Electrons
• ${}^{229m}$Th isomer from a nuclear model perspective
• All-solid-state VUV frequency comb at 160 nm using multi-harmonic generation in a non-linear femtosecond enhancement cavity
• Internal conversion from excited electronic states of ${}^{229}\mathrm{T}h$ ions
• Electronic level structure of ${\mathrm{Th}}^{+}$ in the range of the ${}^{229m}\mathrm{Th}$ isomer energy
• Magnetic hyperfine structure of the ground-state doublet in highly charged ions ${}^{229}$Th${}^{89+,87+}$ and the Bohr-Weisskopf effect
• Internal conversion of the low energy ${}^{229m}$Th isomer in the Thorium anion
• Studies of thorium and ytterbium ion trap loading from laser ablation for gravity monitoring with nuclear clocks
• Cross section of the Coulomb excitation of ${}^{229m}$Th by low energy muons