Freiburg 2024 – scientific programme
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A: Fachverband Atomphysik
A 19: Precision Spectroscopy of Atoms and Ions II (joint session A/Q)
A 19.6: Talk
Wednesday, March 13, 2024, 12:15–12:30, HS 1098
A Cryogenic Paul Trap Experiment for Laser Spectroscopy of the 229mTh Nuclear Clock Isomer — •Kevin Scharl1, Georg Holthoff1, Mahmood I. Hussain1, Markus Wiesinger1, Daniel Moritz1, Lilli Löbell1, Tamila Rozibakieva1, Sandro Kraemer1,2, Benedict Seiferle1, Shiqian Ding3, Florian Zacherl1, and Peter G. Thirolf1 — 1LMU Munich — 2KU Leuven, Belgium — 3Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
229Th plays a unique role in the nuclear landscape because of its low-lying isomeric first excited state at 8.338 ± 0.024 eV, thus accessible via modern VUV-laser systems. A nuclear clock based on the thorium isomer holds promise not only to push the limits of high-precision time keeping, but also to contribute to dark matter and other fundamental physics research as a novel type of quantum sensor.
The cryogenic Paul trap experiment currently operated at the LMU Munich is primarily designed for long ion storage times, which allows to measure the still unknown ionic lifetime of the isomer. This quantity is expected to be several thousands of seconds and is essential for the realization of a nuclear frequency standard. In a second step, the setup will be a platform for VUV spectroscopy of the isomer, paving the way towards a first nuclear clock prototype.
In this talk, the building blocks of the experimental setup for trapping and sympathetic laser cooling of 229Th3+ by 88Sr+ are presented and the status of first preparatory measurements is discussed.
This work was supported by the European Research Council (ERC) (Grant agreement No. 856415) and BaCaTec (7-2019-2).
Keywords: Thorium Nuclear Clock; Ion Trap; Sympathetic Laser Cooling; HFS Spectroscopy; VUV Spectroscopy