In a remarkable breakthrough, physicists have successfully excited an atomic nucleus with a laser for the first time, opening up new possibilities for high precision technologies, including nuclear clocks. This achievement, decades in the making, marks the intersection of classical quantum physics and nuclear physics, a union previously thought impossible.
The elusive thorium transition, with its exact energy now known, has been successfully achieved through laser manipulation. This groundbreaking discovery was published in the esteemed journal Physical Review Letters by a team led by Prof. Thorsten Schumm from TU Wien (Vienna) and a team from the National Metrology Institute Braunschweig (PTB).
Exciting the Atomic Nucleus with a Laser
The success of this experiment lies in the ability to precisely control the nuclear energy levels of thorium-229, a rare isotope. Traditionally, the excitation of atomic nuclei has been a challenging task, as the energy levels are typically too high to be accessed by common laser sources. However, the unique properties of thorium-229 have enabled this breakthrough.
Nuclear Clocks and High-Precision Technologies
The excitation of the atomic nucleus with a laser opens up new possibilities for nuclear clocks, which could be significantly more accurate than existing atomic clocks. These nuclear clocks could revolutionize timekeeping and navigation, with potential applications in fields such as GPS, telecommunications, and the study of fundamental physics.