A new and more precise way of measuring time is the aim of an international research project in which Würzburg physicist Adriana Pálffy-Buß is involved. The results could also help in the search for dark matter.
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Increasing the Measurement Accuracy of Physical Methods
“Researchers led by Oliver Heckl from the University of Vienna want to increase the measurement
Rotating Corkscrews As Solution
Another problem: to date, there is no laser with the necessary precision to trigger the desired effect. The Austrian-German research team is therefore relying on the aforementioned “innovative method that uses light with orbital angular momentum.” This is also referred to as twisted light or vortex beams.
In very simplified terms, laser pulses do not hit the thorium atoms like an “energy wall” in this method. Instead, they resemble a kind of rotating corkscrew and are therefore more likely to put the atomic nuclei into the desired excited state.
Theory Calculations for the Ideal Scenario
As an expert in theoretical physics, Adriana Pálffy-Buß will primarily support the research project with her calculations. “I design and simulate what would happen in various experimental set-ups and make proposals what would work best,” summarizes the physicist. Among numerous approaches, she tries to identify the most promising scenario. For that, she receives around 375,000 euros from the special research area’s funding pot – enough to finance two doctoral positions.
For physicists, this research project is super exciting, says Pálffy-Buß. “A nuclear clock would make it possible to investigate concepts that are normally taken for granted, such as the question of whether fundamental physical constants are really constant.” It could also help to answer the question of what dark matter is made of. “Due to the fundamental interactions that play a role in nuclear transitions, the nuclear clock is in a unique position to answer such questions,” concludes the physicist.