SAMOP 2023 – wissenschaftliches Programm
Bereiche | Tage | Auswahl | Suche | Aktualisierungen | Downloads | Hilfe
Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 51: Precision Measurements
Q 51.7: Vortrag
Donnerstag, 9. März 2023, 16:00–16:15, A320
Towards VUV laser spectroscopy of the nuclear clock isomer 229mTh — •Mahmood Hussain1, Johannes Weitenberg2,3, Stephan H. Wissenberg2, Tamila Rozibakieva1, Hans-Dieter Hoffmann2, Constantin L. Häfner2,4, and Peter G. Thirolf1 — 1LMU Munich — 2Fraunhofer ILT Aachen — 3Max-Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, Garching — 4RWTH Aachen University
The isotope 229-Thorium features a low-energy (approx. 8.3 eV) isomeric first nuclear excited state, the so-called thorium isomer. Its long coherence time and vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) transition energy make it the only nuclear transition that is accessible with current laser technology and therefore highly desirable for a clock operation. The small nuclear moments make the nuclear clock a unique quantum sensor to probe, e.g., dark matter or spatio-temporal fluctuations of fundamental constants. To drive the nuclear transition, we are developing a tabletop approx. 150 nm frequency comb that combines a high-power ultrastable frequency comb at 1050 nm, nonlinear pulse compression, and an enhancement resonator to produce VUV high power per comb mode (1 nW/mode) and a narrow comb linewidth (approx. 1 kHz) via high harmonic generation in Xe gas jet. Besides the VUV comb development, other challenges include, (i) coupling VUV pulses with trapped thorium ion(s) for coherent nuclear excitation and, (ii) orders of magnitude reduction in uncertainty of the transition frequency. The VUV comb's concept, the aforementioned challenges, and their prospective solutions will be discussed. Funding: European Research Council (ERC Synergy Grant, Agreement No. 856415).