Pr10+ as a candidate for a high-accuracy optical clock for tests of fundamental physics

Abstract

We propose In-like Pr10+ as a candidate for the development of a high-accuracy optical clock with high sensitivity to a time variation of the fine-structure constant, (\dot alpha}/alpha, as well as favorable experimental systematics. We calculate its low-lying energy levels by combining the configuration interaction and the coupled cluster method, achieving uncertainties as low as 0.1%, and improving previous work. We benchmark these results by comparing our calculations for the (5s^2 5p 2P_1/2) - (5s^2 5p 2P_3/2) transition in Pr10+ with a dedicated measurement and for Pr9+ with a recent experiment, respectively. In addition, we report calculated hyperfine-structure constants for the clock and logic states in Pr10+.