Feasibility study of measuring the Th229 nuclear isomer transition with U233-doped crystals

Simon Stellmer, Matthias Schreitl, Georgy A. Kazakov, Johannes H. Sterba, and Thorsten Schumm
Phys. Rev. C 94, 014302 – Published 5 July 2016

Abstract

We propose a simple approach to measure the energy of the few-eV isomeric state in Th229. To this end, U233 nuclei are doped into VUV-transparent crystals, where they undergo α decay into Th229, and, with a probability of 2%, populate the isomeric state. These Th229m nuclei may decay into the nuclear ground state under emission of the sought-after VUV γ ray, whose wavelength can be determined with a spectrometer. Based on measurements of the optical transmission of U238:CaF2 crystals in the VUV range, we expect a signal at least two orders of magnitude larger compared to current schemes using surface implantation of recoil nuclei. The signal background is dominated by Cherenkov radiation induced by β decays of the thorium decay chain. We estimate that, even if the isomer undergoes radiative de-excitation with a probability of only 0.1%, the VUV γ ray can be detected within a reasonable measurement time.

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  • Received 23 November 2015
  • Revised 13 April 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.94.014302

©2016 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Nuclear PhysicsCondensed Matter, Materials & Applied PhysicsAtomic, Molecular & Optical

Authors & Affiliations

Simon Stellmer, Matthias Schreitl, Georgy A. Kazakov, Johannes H. Sterba, and Thorsten Schumm

  • Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology (VCQ) and Atominstitut, TU Wien, 1020 Vienna, Austria

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Issue

Vol. 94, Iss. 1 — July 2016

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