Sensitivity of Nuclear Transition Frequencies to Temporal Variation of the Fine Structure Constant or the Strong Interaction

Details Sensitivity of Nuclear Transition Frequencies to Temporal Variation of the Fine Structure Constant or the Strong Interaction Sensitivity of Nuclear Transition Frequencies to Temporal Variation of the Fine Structure Constant or the Strong Interaction

2007-02-13

arxiv.org/abs/nucl-th/0702048v2

Phys.Lett.B650:229-232,2007

Physics

Nuclear Physics

Nuclear Theory

4 Pages, no figures

Scientific paper

10.1016/j.physletb.2007.05.021

There exist in nature a few nuclear isomers with very low (eV) excitation energies, and the combination of low energy and narrow width makes them possible candidates for laser-based investigations. The best candidate is the lowest-energy excited state known in nuclear physics, the 7.6(5) eV isomer of $^{229}$Th. A recent study suggests that a measurement of the temporal variation of the excitation energy of this isomer would have 5-6 orders of magnitude enhanced sensitivity to a variation of the fine structure constant ($\alpha \cong 1/137.036$) or of a strong interaction parameter ($m_q/\Lambda_{QCD}$). We reexamine the physics involved in these arguments. By invoking the Feynman-Hellmann Theorem we argue that there is no expectation of significantly enhanced sensitivity to a variation in the fine structure constant (beyond that obtained from experimental considerations such as the low energy and narrow width of the isomer). A similar argument applies to the strong interaction, but evaluating the shift due to temporal variations of the underlying parameters of the strong interaction may be beyond current nuclear structure techniques.

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