On the sensitivity of nuclear clocks to new physics
Andrea Caputo, Doron Gazit, Hans-Werner Hammer, Joachim Kopp, Gil Paz, Gilad Perez, Konstantin Springmann
Published: 2024/7/22
Abstract
The recent demonstration of laser excitation of the $\approx 8$ 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 $10^4$ while a worst case scenario with enhancement $\ll 1$ is unlikely.