Laser-induced electronic bridge for characterization of the ${}^{229\mathrm{m}}\mathrm{Th}\to {}^{229\mathrm{g}}\mathrm{Th}$ nuclear transition with a tunable optical laser

Abstract

An alternative method to determine the excitation energy of the ${}^{229\mathrm{m}}\mathrm{Th}$ isomer via the laser-induced electronic bridge is investigated theoretically. In the presence of an optical or ultra-violet laser at energies that fulfill a two-photon resonance condition, the excited nuclear state can decay by transfering its energy to the electronic shell. A bound electron is then promoted to an excited state by absorption of a laser photon and simultaneous de-excitation of the nucleus. We present calculated rates for the laser-induced electronic bridge process and discuss the experimental requirements for the corresponding setup. Our results show that depending on the actual value of the nuclear transition energy, the rate can be very high, with an enhancement factor compared to the radiative nuclear decay of up to $10^8$.

11 pages, 3 figures, 4 tables

References in corpus (8)

• Direct detection of the 229Th nuclear clock transition
• Proposal for a Nuclear Gamma-Ray Laser of Optical Range
• Lifetime measurement of the ${}^{229}$Th nuclear isomer
• Excitation of the isomeric ^{229m}Th nuclear state via an electronic bridge process in ^{229}Th^+
• Nuclear clocks based on resonant excitation of gamma-transitions
• A laser excitation scheme for ${}^{229\text{m}}$Th
• Coherence-enhanced optical determination of the ${}^{229}$Th isomeric transition
• Internal conversion from excited electronic states of ${}^{229}\mathrm{T}h$ ions

Cited by in corpus (11)

• Electronic bridge excitation in highly charged Th-229 ions
• Nuclear excitation of the ${}^{229}$Th isomer via defect states in doped crystals
• The ${}^{229}$Th isomer: prospects for a nuclear optical clock
• Expanding Nuclear Physics Horizons with the Gamma Factory
• The electric quadrupole channel of the 7.8 eV ${}^{229}\mathrm{Th}$ transition
• Resonant electronic-bridge excitation of the U-235 nuclear transition in ions with chaotic spectra
• Driven electronic bridge processes via defect states in ${}^{229}$Th-doped crystals
• A scheme for excitation of thorium-229 nuclei based on the electronic bridge excitaion
• Nuclear Isomer Excitation in 229Th Atom by Super-Intense Laser Field
• Excitation and probing of low-energy nuclear states at high-energy storage rings
• Proposal for a Nuclear Light Source