Speaker
Description
Nuclear properties of thorium offer an opportunity for a number of novel applications,
such as direct laser excitation of the nucleus in the case of $^{229}$Th, which may serve for the construction of a nuclear clock, and also for testing fundamental symmetries [1-4]. In the framework of the Trapping And Cooling of Thorium Ions with Calcium (TACTICa) collaboration, we present loading and trapping single $^{232}$Th$^+$ ions into a linear Paul trap, with thorium ions being inserted into small crystals of trapped $^{40}$Ca$^+$ ions, which provide sympathetic cooling [5]. Trapped $^{232}$Th$^+$ ions are identified in two ways: non-destructively, from the gaps in the laser-induced calcium fluorescence pattern of the crystal, and from a time-of-flight signal after their extraction from the Paul trap [6]. We further discuss the possibilities for future studies of $^{229\textrm{m}}$Th ions and thorium-containing molecules.
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[4] V. V. Flambaum. Phys. Rev. C 99, 035501 (2019).
[5] K. Groot-Berning, F. Stopp, G. Jacob et al. Phys. Rev. A 99, 023420 (2019).
[6] F. Stopp, K. Groot-Berning, G. Jacob et al. Hyp. Int. 240, 33 (2019).
