Lifetime of the singly charged $^{229}$Th nuclear isomer
Y. Shigekawa, A. Yamaguchi, K. Tokoi, N. Sato, H. Kikunaga, K. Shirasaki et al. · arXiv: 2610.31009v1 · Summary page
Why cover this story this week?
An electron-assisted escape route for a nuclear clock
Thorium's unusually low-energy nuclear isomer sits close enough to electronic excitation energies that its surroundings can profoundly alter its lifetime. Researchers produced singly charged thorium isomers through charge exchange in an ion trap, then detected them by measuring electrons emitted through internal conversion. They measured a half-life of 0.46(8) s, markedly different from the half-lives associated with the established internal-conversion and radiative decay channels.
That mismatch indirectly suggests an electronic bridge: a higher-order process in which an electronic transition helps the nucleus shed its excitation energy. It is not yet a direct observation of that channel. Establishing how it works would illuminate the usually weak connection between nuclear and electronic dynamics, while potentially offering a way to accelerate nuclear deexcitation in a thorium-based nuclear clock.
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