Computer modelling of thorium doping in LiCaAlF6 and LiSrAlF6: application to the development of solid state optical frequency devices
This paper describes computer modelling of thorium doping in crystalline LiCaAlF6 and LiSrAlF6. The study has been motivated by the interest in using these materials as hosts for 229Th nuclei, which are being investigated for use as frequency standards. The dopant sites and form of charge compensation are obtained; this information is essential for the further development and optimization of these devices.
229Thorium-doped calcium fluoride for nuclear laser spectroscopy
The 229thorium isotope presents an extremely low-energy isomer state of the nucleus which is expected around 7.8 eV, in the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) regime. This unique system may bridge between atomic and nuclear physics, enabling coherent manipulation and precision spectroscopy of nuclear quantum states using laser light. It has been proposed to implant 229thorium into VUV transparent crystal matrices to facilitate laser spectroscopy and possibly realize a solid-state nuclear clock. In this work, we validate the feasibility of this approach by computer modelling of thorium doping into calcium fluoride single crystals. Using atomistic modelling and full electronic structure calculations, we find a persistent large band gap and no additional electronic levels emerging in the middle of the gap due to the presence of the dopant, which should allow direct optical interrogation of the nuclear transition. Based on the electronic structure, we estimate the thorium nuclear quantum levels within the solid-state environment. Precision laser spectroscopy of these levels will allow the study of a broad range of crystal field effects, transferring Mössbauer spectroscopy into the optical regime.
Lasers as a bridge between atomic and nuclear physics
Abstract This paper reviews the application of visible and ultraviolet laser radiation to several topics in low-energy nuclear physics. We consider laser-induced nuclear anti-Stokes transitions, laser-assisted and laser-induced internal conversion, and the electron bridge and inverse electron bridge mechanisms as tools for deexcitation and excitation of low-lying nuclear isomeric states. A study of the anomalously low-lying nuclear isomeric states (in the case of the 229 Th nucleus) is presented in detail.