Investigation of the Low-Lying Nuclear Isomeric Transition in the A = 229 Isotope of Thorium

该奖项将支持PI及其团队将激光物理技术引入核系统，目标是直接检测和表征钍的A = 229同位素中的独特激发态。 该状态是一种低激发态，现在可以用当前的激光技术进行研究。 最终目标是利用这种状态的特征来研究现代科学中最引人注目的问题之一：自然界的常数真的是常数吗？ 此外，还提出了两个具有重大影响的技术应用：一个是核钟，它的性能可能超过所有目前和计划中的光学钟，从而改善导航和通信，另一个是光学范围内的伽马射线激光器。在该奖项下，PI和他的团队将对这种核跃迁进行直接搜索，以更好地测量跃迁能量和寿命，从而实现上述有前途的应用。具体来说，他们将使用能够直接激发核态的激光系统来询问已经掺杂到真空紫外透明基质晶体中的钍-229原子。将监测产生的核荧光以确定跃迁能量和寿命。一旦过渡被发现，过渡作为一个时钟振荡器的潜力将探索比较初步钍时钟架构，以更成熟的原子钟。

This award will support the PI and his group in bringing the techniques of laser physics to a nuclear system with the goal to directly detect and characterize a unique excited state in the A = 229 isotope of thorium. The state is a low lying excited state that is now able to be investigated with current laser technology. The ultimate goal is to use the characteristics of that state to investigate one of the most compelling questions in modern science: Are the constants of nature actually constants? Further, two technological applications with significant impact have also been proposed: a nuclear clock, which could outperform all current and planned optical clocks, thereby improving navigation and communication, and a gamma ray laser in the optical range. Under this award, the PI and his group will perform a direct search for this nuclear transition to better measure the transition energy and lifetime in order to enable the aforementioned promising applications. Specifically, they will interrogate thorium-229 atoms, which have been doped into a vacuum ultraviolet transparent host crystal, with a laser system capable of directly exciting the nuclear state. The resulting nuclear fluorescence will be monitored to determine the transition energy and lifetime. Once the transition is found, the potential of the transition for use as a clock oscillator will be explored by comparing a preliminary thorium clock architecture to more established atomic clocks.