On August 1, TASS reported that the development of nuclear clocks will improve the accuracy of future navigation satellite systems and enable high-precision measurements of a range of fundamental constants, including the gravitational constant, thereby testing the foundations of cosmological effects in general relativity, according to the press service of the Sarov National Center for Physics and Mathematics (NCPM).

Nuclear clocks are more compact, stable, and accurate than atomic clocks, and their precision is directly related to improvements in navigation satellite systems (such as GPS and GLONASS). High-precision frequency standards can record the relationship between transition frequencies and gravitational fields, allowing measurement of Earth's gravitational field using frequency standards on satellites. Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Head of the Department of Metrological Physics and Technical Problems at the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute of the National Research Nuclear University, and leader of the thorium clock development project, Peter Borisyuk, stated that nuclear frequency standards can also address fundamental physics problems, particularly high-precision measurements of certain fundamental constants (such as the fine structure constant and gravitational constant), thus testing the foundations of cosmological effects in general relativity.

Peter Borisyuk further noted that such satellite technology can enable remote detection of mineral deposits and oil-gas condensate fields, creation of high-precision geoid navigation maps, and resolution of dual-use military-civilian tasks.

Scientific Director of the National Center for Physics and Mathematics (NCFM) and Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Sergeev stated that the development of atomic and nuclear clocks is at the forefront of scientific research. The currently internationally recognized frequency standard is the cesium atomic clock, based on transitions between two energy levels in the hyperfine structure of cesium-133 atoms to reproduce the unit of frequency measurement. Unlike electronic level transitions, nuclear transitions are shielded by the electron shell from external influences, improving measurement accuracy by several orders of magnitude.

Alexander Sergeev added that the most promising approach for building a nuclear clock is the isomeric transition in the nucleus of the thorium-229 isotope, with an energy of about 8.3eV and frequency in the vacuum ultraviolet range, accessible with current laser sources. Research in this area is being conducted within the scientific program of the National Center for Physics and Mathematics, with scientists collaborating under the support of Rosatom.

According to Alexander Sergeev, leading research teams worldwide are exploring methods to create nuclear clocks. Although the idea of using the isomeric transition in the thorium-229 isotope nucleus for an atomic clock has been proposed for a long time, it was not until 2024 that scientists achieved the first practical success in this direction.