Photoinduced quenching of the <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mmultiscripts> <mml:mi>Th</mml:mi> <mml:mprescripts/> <mml:none/> <mml:mn>229</mml:mn> </mml:mmultiscripts> </mml:math> isomer in a solid-state host
J. E. S. Terhune, ROBERT ELWELL, H. B. Tran Tan, A. G. U. Perera, Harry W. T. Morgan, Anastassia N. Alexandrova, Andrei Derevianko, Eric R. Hudson
Abstract
The population dynamics of the <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <a:mmultiscripts> <a:mi>Th</a:mi> <a:mprescripts/> <a:none/> <a:mn>229</a:mn> </a:mmultiscripts> </a:math> isomeric state is studied in a solid-state host under laser illumination. A photoquenching process is observed, where off-resonant vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) radiation leads to relaxation of the isomeric state. The cross-section for this photoquenching process is measured, and a model for the decay process, where photoexcitation of electronic states within the material band gap opens an internal conversion decay channel, is presented and appears to reproduce the measured cross-section. By engineering defects into <b:math xmlns:b="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <b:mmultiscripts> <b:mi>Th</b:mi> <b:mprescripts/> <b:none/> <b:mn>229</b:mn> </b:mmultiscripts> </b:math> -doped solid-state hosts, this previously unrecognized photoquenching process may be used to reduce the clock transition readout time and thereby increase the stability of the nuclear clock.