Constraining the Evolution of the Fundamental Constants with a Solid-State Optical Frequency Reference Based on the 229Th Nucleus

We describe a novel approach to directly measure the energy of the narrow, low-lying isomeric state in Th-229. Since nuclear transitions are far less sensitive to environmental conditions than atomic transitions, we argue that the Th-229 optical nuclear transition may be driven inside a host crystal with a high transition Q. This technique might also allow for the construction of a solid-state optical frequency reference that surpasses the short-term stability of current optical clocks, as well as improved limits on the variability of fundamental constants. Based on analysis of the crystal lattice environment, we argue that a precision (short-term stability) of 3 x 10(-17) < Delta f/f < 1 x 10(-15) after 1 s of photon collection may be achieved with a systematic-limited accuracy (long-term stability) of Delta f/f similar to 2 x 10(-16). Improvement by 10(2) - 10(3) of the constraints on the variability of several important fundamental constants also appears possible.