Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Towards a 229Th-Based Nuclear Clock

  • Published:
Measurement Techniques Aims and scope

An overview of the current status of the development of a nuclear clock based on the state of lowest known nuclear excitation energy in 229Th is presented. The text is especially written for the interested reader without any particular knowledge in this field of research. It is thus ideal as an introductory reading to get a broad overview of the various different aspects of the field; in addition, it can serve as a guideline for future research. An introductory part is provided, giving a historic context and explaining the fundamental concept of clocks. Finally, potential candidates for nuclear clocks other than 229Th are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. K. Higgins, D. Miner, C. N. Smith, and D. B. Sullivan, A Walk Through Time (version 1.2.1) (2004), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, http://physics.nist.gov/time, acc. July 12, 2010.

  2. M. Bennet et al., “Huygens’ clocks,” Proc. Royal Soc. London A, 458, 563–579 (2002).

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  3. F. Sorge, M. Cammalleri, and G. Genchi, “On the birth and growth of pendulum clocks in the early modern era,” in: Essays on the History of Mechanical Engineering, Springer (2016), pp. 273–290.

  4. R. T. Gould, The Marine Chronometer: Its History and Development, J. D. Potter (1923).

  5. J. E. Bosschieter, Shortt’s Free Pendulum. A History of the Evolution of Electric Clocks, www.electric-clocks.eu/clocks/en/page10.htm, acc. Sept. 3, 2017.

  6. W. A. Marrison, “The evolution of the quartz crystal clock,” Bell Syst. Techn. J., 27, 510–588 (1948).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. H. Lyons, “The atomic clock,” Instruments, 22, 133–135 (1949).

    Google Scholar 

  8. P. Forman, Atomichron: The Atomic Clock from Concept to Commercial Product, IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control Society (1998).

  9. L. Essen and J. V. L. Parry, “An atomic standard of frequency and time interval: A cesium resonator,” Nature, 176, 280–282 (1955).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. N. F. Ramsey, “History of atomic clocks,” J. Res. Nat. Bur. Stand., 88, 301–318 (1983).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. R. Wynands and S. Weyers, “Atomic fountain clocks,” Metrologica, 42, 64–79 (2005).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. Th. Udem, R. Holzwarth, and T. W. Hänsch, “Optical frequency metrology,” Nature, 416, 233–237 (2002).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  13. S. A. Diddams et al., “An optical clock based on a single trapped 199Hg+ ion,” Science, 293, 825–828 (2001).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  14. T. Rosenband et al., “Frequency ratio of Al+ and Hg+ single-ion optical clocks; Metrology at the 17th decimal place,” Science, 319, 1808–1811 (2008).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  15. N. Huntemann et al., “Single-ion atomic clock with 3·10–18 systematic uncertainty,” Phys. Rev. Lett., 116, 063001 (2016).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. B. J. Bloom et al., “An optical lattice clock with accuracy and stability at the 10–18 level,” Nature, 506, 71–75 (2014).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. T. L. Nicholson et al., “Systematic evaluation of an atomic clock at 2·10–18 total uncertainty,” Nature, Communications (2015).

  18. A. D. Ludlow et al., “Optical atomic clocks,” Rev. Mod. Phys., 87, 637–699 (2015).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  19. E. Peik and M. Okhapkin, “Nuclear clocks based on resonant excitation of γ-transitions,” Comptes Rendus Phys., 16, 516–523 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. L. A. Kroger and C. W. Reich, “Features of the low energy level scheme of 229Th as observed in the decay of 233U,” Nucl. Phys. A, 259, 29 (1976).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  21. C. W. Reich and R. Helmer, “Energy separation of the doublet of intrinsic states at the ground state of 229Th,” Phys. Rev. Lett., 64, 271 (1990).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  22. R. Helmer and C. W. Reich, “An excited state of 229Th at 3.5 eV,” Phys. Rev. C, 49, 1845 (1994).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  23. B. R. Beck et al., “Energy splitting of the ground-state doublet in the nucleus 229Th,” Phys. Rev. Lett., 109, 142501 (2007).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  24. B. R. Beck et al., “Improved value for the energy splitting of the ground-state doublet in the nucleus 229mTh,” LLNLPROC-415170 (2009).

  25. F. F. Karpeshin and M. B. Trzhaskovskaya, “Impact of the electron environment on the lifetime of the 229Thm low-lying isomer,” Phys. Rev. C, 76, 054313 (2007).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  26. L. von der Wense, On the Direct Detection of 229m Th: PhD Thesis, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany (2016), https://edoc.ub.uni-muenchen.de/20492/7/Wense Lars von der.pdf.

  27. O. V. Vorykhalov and V. V. Koltsov, “Search for an isomeric transition of energy below 5 eV in 229Th nucleus,” Bull. Russ. Acad. Sci.: Physics, 59, 20–24 (1995).

  28. V. F. Strizhov and E. V. Tkalya, “Decay channel of low-lying isomer state of the 229Th nucleus. Possibilities of experimental investigation,” Sov. Phys. JETP, 72, 387 (1991).

    Google Scholar 

  29. E. V. Tkalya, V. O. Varlamov, V. V. Lomonosov, and S. A. Nikulin, “Processes of the nuclear isomer 229mTh (3/2+, 3.5 ± 1.0 eV) resonant excitation by optical photons,” Phys. Scripta, 53, 296–299 (1996).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  30. E. V. Tkalya, A. N. Zherikin, and V. I. Zhudov, “Decay of the low-energy nuclear isomer 229Thm (3/2+, 3.5 ± 1.0 eV) in solids (dielectrics and metals): a new scheme of experimental research,” Phys. Rev. C, 61, 064308 (2000).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  31. E. Peik and C. Tamm, “Nuclear laser spectroscopy of the 3.5 eV transition in 229Th,” Euro-Phys. Lett., 61, 181–186 (2003).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  32. N. Minkov and A. Pállfy, “Reduced transition probabilities for the gamma decay of the 7.8 eV isomer in 229Th,” Phys. Rev. Lett., 118, 212501 (2017).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  33. E. V. Tkalya, C. Schneider, J. Jeet, and E. R. Hudson, “Radiative lifetime and energy of the low-energy isomeric level in 229Th,” Phys. Rev. C, 92, 054324 (2015).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  34. C. J. Campbell, A. G. Radnaev, A. Kuzmich, et al., “Single-ion nuclear clock for metrology at the 19th decimal place,” Phys. Rev. Lett., 108, 120802 (2012).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  35. C. J. Campbell, A. G. Radnaev, and A. Kuzmich, “Wigner crystals of 229Th for optical excitation of the nuclear isomer,” Phys. Rev. Lett., 106, 223001 (2011).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  36. K. Zimmermann, Experiments Towards Optical Nuclear Spectroscopy with Thorium-229: PhD Thesis, University of Hannover, Germany (2010).

  37. P. V. Borisyuk et al., “Trapping, retention and laser cooling of Th3+ ions in a multisection linear quadrupole trap,” Quant. Electr., 47, 406–411 (2017).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  38. W. G. Rellergert et al., “Constraining the evolution of the fundamental constants with a solid-state optical frequency reference based on the 229Th nucleus,” Phys. Rev. Lett., 104, 200802 (2010).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  39. G. A. Kazakov et al., “Performance of a 229Thorium solid-state nuclear clock,” New J. Phys., 14, 083019 (2012).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  40. E. Swanberg, Searching for the Decay of 229m Th: PhD Thesis, University of California, Berkeley (2012).

  41. X. Zhao et al., “Observation of the deexcitation of the 229mTh nuclear isomer,” Phys. Rev. Lett.,109, 160801 (2012).

  42. E. Peik and K. Zimmermann, “Comment on ‘Observation of the deexcitation of the 229mTh nuclear isomer’,” Phys. Rev. Lett., 111, 018901 (2013).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  43. L. von der Wense et al., “Towards a direct transition energy measurement of the lowest nuclear excitation in 229Th,” JINST, 8, P03005 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. M. P. Hehlen et al., “Optical spectroscopy of an atomic nucleus: Progress toward direct observation of the 229Th isomer transition,” J. Lumin., 133, 91–95 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. S. Stellmer et al., “Feasibility study of measuring the 229Th nuclear isomer transition with 233U-doped crystals,” Phys. Rev. C, 94, 014302 (2016).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  46. P. van Duppen et al., Characterization of the Low-Energy 229m Th Isomer: Letter of Intent to the ISOLDE and Neutron Time-of-Flight Committee (2017), https://cds.cern.ch/record/2266840.

  47. S. G. Porsev, V. V. Flambaum, E. Peik, and Chr. Tamm, “Excitation of the isomeric 229mTh nuclear state via an electronic bridge process in 229Th1+,” Phys. Rev. Lett., 105, 182501 (2010).

  48. O. A. Herrera-Sancho, Laser Excitation of 8-eV Electronic States in Th + : A First Pillar of the Electronic Bridge Toward Excitation of the Th-229 Nucleus: PhD Thesis, Univ. Hannover, Germany (2012).

  49. C. J. Campbell et al., “Multiply charged thorium crystals for nuclear laser spectroscopy,” Phys. Rev. Lett., 102, 233004 (2009).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  50. J. Jeet et al., “Results of a direct search using synchrotron radiation for the low-energy 229Th nuclear isomeric transition,” Phys. Rev. Lett., 114, 253001 (2015).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  51. S. Stellmer, M. Schreitl, and T. Schumm, “Radioluminescence and photoluminescence of Th:CaF2 crystals,” Sci. Reports, 5, 15580 (2015).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  52. A. Yamaguchi et al., “Experimental search for the low-energy nuclear transition in 229Th with undulator radiation,” New J. Phys., 17, 053053 (2015).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  53. S. Stellmer et al., “Towards measurements of the nuclear clock transition in 229Th,” J. Phys.: Conf. Ser., 723, 012059 (2016).

  54. Yu. P. Gangrsky et al., “Search for light radiation in decay of 229Th isomer with anomalously low excitation energy,” Bull. Rus. Acad. Sci. Phys., 69, 1857 (2005).

    Google Scholar 

  55. L. von der Wense et al., “Direct detection of the 229Th nuclear clock transition,” Nature, 533, 47–51 (2016).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  56. B. Seiferle, L. von der Wense, and P. G. Thirolf, “Lifetime measurement of the 229Th nuclear isomer,” Phys. Rev. Lett., 118, 042501 (2017).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  57. B. Seiferle, L. von der Wense, and P.G. Thirolf, “Feasibility study of internal conversion electron spectroscopy of 229mTh,” Eur. Phys. J. A, 53, 108 (2017).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  58. F. Ponce, High Accuracy Measurement of the Nuclear Decay of U-235m and Search for the Nuclear Decay of Th-229m: PhD Thesis, University of California, USA (2017).

  59. V. O. Varlamov et al., “Excitation of a 229mTh ((3/2)+, 3.5 eV) isomer by surface plasmons,” Phys. Dokl., 41, 47 (1996).

    ADS  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  60. L. von der Wense et al., “Laser excitation scheme for 229mTh,” Phys. Rev. Lett., accepted for publication.

  61. G. A. Kazakov et al., “Prospects for measuring the 229Th isomer energy using a metallic magnetic microcalorimeter,” Nucl. Instrum. Meth. A, 735, 229–239 (2014).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  62. P. Schneider, Spektroskopische Messungen an Thorium-229 mit einem Detektor-Array aus metallischen magnetischen Kalorimetern: Master Thesis, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany (2016).

  63. A. Pálffy et al., “Isomer triggering via nuclear excitation by electron capture,” Phys. Rev. Lett., 99, 172502 (2007).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  64. C. Brandau et al., “Probing nuclear properties by resonant atomic collisions between electrons and ions,” Phys. Scr., T156, 014050 (2013).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  65. X. Ma et al., “Proposal for precision determination of 7.8 eV isomeric state in 229Th at heavy ion storage ring,” Phys. Scr., T166, 014012 (2015).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  66. W. T. Liao and A. Pálffy, “Optomechanically induced transparency of x-rays via optical control,” Sci. Reports, 7, 321 (2017).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  67. K. Beloy, “Hyperfine structure in 229gTh3+ as a probe of the 229gTh → 229mTh nuclear excitation energy,” Phys. Rev. Lett., 112, 062503 (2014).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  68. V. Sonnenschein et al., “The search for the existence of 229mTh at IGISOL,” Eur. Phys. J. A, 48, 52 (2012).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  69. M. Safronova, “Elusive tranition spotted in thorium,” Nature, 533, 44–45 (2016).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  70. V. V. Flambaum, “Enhanced effect of temporal variation of the ne structure constant and the strong interaction in 229Th,” Phys. Rev. Lett., 97, 092502 (2006).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  71. A. Cingöz et al., “Direct frequency comb spectroscopy in the extreme ultraviolet,” Nature, 482, 68–71 (2012).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  72. S. M. Cavaletto et al., “Broadband high-resolution x-ray frequency combs,” Nature Photonics, 8, 520–523 (2014).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  73. NNDC Interactive Chart of Nuclides, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Brookhaven, https://www.nndc.bnl.gov/chart, acc. Sept. 3, 2017.

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 664732 “nuClock,” by DFG grant Th956/3-1, and by the LMU department of Medical Physics via the Maier-Leibnitz Laboratory. L.v.d.Wense would like to thank the organizers of the conference within the frame of the jubilee celebrating “175 years of the Mendeleev All-Russia Research Institute of Metrology (VNIIM) and National Measurement System” in St. Petersburg for the invitation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich, Germany

    L. von der Wense, B. Seiferle & P. G. Thirolf

Authors
  1. L. von der Wense
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. B. Seiferle
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. P. G. Thirolf
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to L. von der Wense.

Additional information

Published in Izmeritel’naya Tekhnika, No. 12, pp. 13–22, December, 2017.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

von der Wense, L., Seiferle, B. & Thirolf, P.G. Towards a 229Th-Based Nuclear Clock. Meas Tech 60, 1178–1192 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11018-018-1337-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11018-018-1337-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation