X-ray-induced quenching of the ${}^{229}$Th clock isomer in CaF${}_2$

Abstract

Thorium-229 has the lowest nuclear-excited state (an isomer state) at approximately 8.356 eV, making it excitable with tabletop vacuum-ultraviolet lasers. Despite the recent success of laser excitation, the isomer quenching inside the solid-state environment remains unresolved. In this letter, we present experiments investigating X-ray-induced isomer quenching in the CaF${}_2$ host, focusing on the effects of X-ray flux and temperature on the lifetime and yield of the isomer state. Our studies reveal a correlation between isomer production, isomer lifetime during irradiation, and post-irradiation afterglow of the target crystal across different temperatures, highlighting a strong relationship between isomer quenching and color-center dynamics. We developed a model to interpret the isomer quenching and the crystal's luminescence.

13 pages, 8 figures, 4 tables, 23 equations