The NuQuant project and recent progress toward the development of a 229Th-based nuclear optical clock
Dr. Lars von der Wense (LMU München)

Optical atomic clocks are today’s most accurate time-keeping devices. They achieve stunning relative accuracies in the range of 10-18, corresponding to an error of 1 second in 30 billion years. An even improved accuracy is expected to be achieved by a nuclear optical clock, since the nucleus is significantly less sensitive to external influences than the atomic shell.

Developing a nuclear optical clock requires laser spectroscopy of a nuclear transition, an objective which has so far not been achieved, but which has come into reach due to recent gain of knowledge.

In this talk I will give an overview over the recent progress that has been made toward the development of a nuclear optical clock. I will introduce several experiments that are currently in preparation aiming toward first-time laser spectroscopy of a nuclear transition. Finally, I will introduce the investigations planned within the framework of the newly funded BMBF project “NuQuant”.