The isomer ^(229m)Th is the most promising candidate for clocks based on the nuclear transition because it has the lowest excitation energy of only 8.10±0.17 eV.Various experiments and theories have focused on me...The isomer ^(229m)Th is the most promising candidate for clocks based on the nuclear transition because it has the lowest excitation energy of only 8.10±0.17 eV.Various experiments and theories have focused on methods of triggering the transition between the ground state and isomeric state,among which the electronic bridge(EB)is one of the most efficient.In this paper,we propose a new electronic bridge mechanism via two-photon excitation based on quantum optics for a two-level nuclear quantum system.The long-lived 7 s1/2 electronic shell state of^(229m)Th^(3+),with a lifetime of approximately 0.6 s,is chosen as the initial state and the atomic shells(7 s-10 s)could be achieved as virtual states in a two-photon process.When the virtual states return to the initial state 7 s1/2,there is a chance of triggering the nucleus 229Th^(3+),to its isomeric state ^(229m)Th ^(3+),via EB.Two lasers at moderate intensity((10^(10)-10^(14))W/m^(2)),with photon energies near the optical range,are expected to populate the isomer at a saturated rate of approximately 10^(9) s^(-1),which is much higher than that due to other mechanisms.We believe that this twophoton EB scheme can help in the development of nuclear clocks and deserves verification via a series of experiments with ordinary lasers in laboratories.展开更多
基金supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(No.XDB16)the Strategic Priority Research Program of the CAS(No.XDB34030000)。
文摘The isomer ^(229m)Th is the most promising candidate for clocks based on the nuclear transition because it has the lowest excitation energy of only 8.10±0.17 eV.Various experiments and theories have focused on methods of triggering the transition between the ground state and isomeric state,among which the electronic bridge(EB)is one of the most efficient.In this paper,we propose a new electronic bridge mechanism via two-photon excitation based on quantum optics for a two-level nuclear quantum system.The long-lived 7 s1/2 electronic shell state of^(229m)Th^(3+),with a lifetime of approximately 0.6 s,is chosen as the initial state and the atomic shells(7 s-10 s)could be achieved as virtual states in a two-photon process.When the virtual states return to the initial state 7 s1/2,there is a chance of triggering the nucleus 229Th^(3+),to its isomeric state ^(229m)Th ^(3+),via EB.Two lasers at moderate intensity((10^(10)-10^(14))W/m^(2)),with photon energies near the optical range,are expected to populate the isomer at a saturated rate of approximately 10^(9) s^(-1),which is much higher than that due to other mechanisms.We believe that this twophoton EB scheme can help in the development of nuclear clocks and deserves verification via a series of experiments with ordinary lasers in laboratories.
