A solid-state nuclear clock based on VUV absorption spectroscopy of 229Th
Abstract
We demonstrate sustained operation of a solid-state thorium-229 nuclear clock using continuous-wave absorption at 148.4 nm. In a 229Th:CaF2 crystal, we resolve four quadrupole components of the D center and a broader O-center resonance. Feedback on the strongest narrow component is updated approximately every 10 s and remains active throughout a 30-h record. A hydrogen-maser-referenced frequency comb measures the output. Its fractional frequency instability follows approximately 1.29×10−11(τ/s)−1/2 and reaches 1.24×10−13 at 104 s. A separate 6.6-h run demonstrates feedback on a second quadrupole component. These measurements connect the resolved absorption spectra with sustained nuclear-clock operation and frequency comparisons between crystal segments.
Related
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BibTeX
@misc{wang2026solidstate,
title = {{A solid-state nuclear clock based on VUV absorption spectroscopy of $^229$Th}},
author = {Pengfei Wang and Xu-Fei Yin and Hanlin Wang and Jinming Liu and Qichen Qin and Zhouzhi Tan and Chengrun Leng and Mingxuan Zhang and Zixuan Li and Wenxin Bu and Xuan Fan and Yihang Liu and Kjeld Beeks and Benedikt Gerstenecker and Sebastian Lahs and Meng Wang and Tung-Hsun Chung and Yong-Heng Huo and Yin Hang and Hanning Dai and Thorsten Schumm and Zhiqiang Zhang and Jian-Wei Pan and Yu-Ao Chen},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.10056},
eprint = {2610.10056},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10056},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - A solid-state nuclear clock based on VUV absorption spectroscopy of ^229Th
AU - Pengfei Wang
AU - Xu-Fei Yin
AU - Hanlin Wang
AU - Jinming Liu
AU - Qichen Qin
AU - Zhouzhi Tan
AU - Chengrun Leng
AU - Mingxuan Zhang
AU - Zixuan Li
AU - Wenxin Bu
AU - Xuan Fan
AU - Yihang Liu
AU - Kjeld Beeks
AU - Benedikt Gerstenecker
AU - Sebastian Lahs
AU - Meng Wang
AU - Tung-Hsun Chung
AU - Yong-Heng Huo
AU - Yin Hang
AU - Hanning Dai
AU - Thorsten Schumm
AU - Zhiqiang Zhang
AU - Jian-Wei Pan
AU - Yu-Ao Chen
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.10056
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.10056
AB - We demonstrate sustained operation of a solid-state thorium-229 nuclear clock using continuous-wave absorption at 148.4 nm. In a ^229Th:CaF_2 crystal, we resolve four quadrupole components of the D center and a broader O-center resonance. Feedback on the strongest narrow component is updated approximately every 10 s and remains active throughout a 30-h record. A hydrogen-maser-referenced frequency comb measures the output. Its fractional frequency instability follows approximately 1.29×10^−11(τ/s)^−1/2 and reaches 1.24×10^−13 at 10^4 s. A separate 6.6-h run demonstrates feedback on a second quadrupole component. These measurements connect the resolved absorption spectra with sustained nuclear-clock operation and frequency comparisons between crystal segments.
ER -