CU-Prime Talk: Going nuclear with ultraviolet lasers (Jack Doyle)

Title - Going nuclear with ultraviolet lasers
Speaker - Jack Doyle
Abstract - Lasers are used to precisely measure and control electron motions in atoms today. However, the internal states of atomic nuclei—how the protons and neutrons move around—was beyond the reach of traditional laser techniques. In the Ye Group at JILA, we developed a special laser called a vacuum ultraviolet frequency comb. This unique laser tool allows us to extend precision laser measurements to nuclear states. In this talk, we’ll discuss how we use this laser to measure a nuclear transition in thorium-229 and build a new type of clock for fundamental physics studies.

For more information about the CU-Prime talk series, visit us online at http://cuprime.org/talks.