On the sensitivity of nuclear clocks to new physics

2024/07/22 by Andrea Caputo, Caputo, Andrea, Doron Gazit +11 · 3 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Frequency and Time Standards #Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research #FOS: Physical sciences #High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph) #Nuclear Experiment (nucl-ex) #Nuclear Theory (nucl-th) #Radioactive Decay and Measurement Techniques

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2407.17526

openalex publication_date 2024/07/22 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

The recent demonstration of laser excitation of the ≈ 8 eV isomeric state of Thorium-229 is a significant step towards a nuclear clock. The low excitation energy likely results from a cancellation between electromagnetic and strong contributions, which new physics can disrupt. In this Letter, we quantify the enhancement of a nuclear clock's sensitivity to new physics using a geometric model and a novel d-wave halo model of the nucleus that reproduces measured differences between Thorium-229 states. We find likely enhancements of order 10⁴ while a worst case scenario with enhancement ≪ 1 is unlikely.

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