Project Details
Coherent excitation of a nucleus (B04)
Subject Area
Optics, Quantum Optics and Physics of Atoms, Molecules and Plasmas
Term
since 2016
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 274200144
The nucleus Th-229 possesses a unique low-energy transition accessible with laser light that opens the perspective to realize a highly precise optical nuclear clock. In the first funding period we have determined important properties of the excited nuclear state and the electronic structure of Th ions. In the future, we will investigate direct laser excitation of the nucleus with trapped Th ions. The transition is expected to be largely insensitive to external perturbations while offering an unprecedented sensitivity for searches for new physics, when probed in frequency comparisons with other optical atomic clocks in B02, B03, and B05. It thus contributes to tests of fundamental physics in DQ-mat.
DFG Programme
Collaborative Research Centres
Applicant Institution
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover
Project Head
Privatdozent Dr. Ekkehard Peik