Nuclear laser spectroscopy and the optical nuclear clock

The recent success of experiments that have performed laser excitation of the 8.4 eV nuclear isomeric state of Thorium-229 in Th-doped crystals has ushered the field of nuclear laser spectroscopy. Among several possible directions of studies on this topic that connects nuclear physics with atomic and optical physics, the development of a nuclear clock seems particularly attractive. This clock would offer high accuracy (especially with laser cooled trapped thorium ions), high stability (in laser Mössbauer spctroscopy of Th-229-doped solids) and high sensitivity in clock-based searches for physics beyond the standard model, in the sectors of the electromagnetic and the strong interactions. I will give an overview of current developments in this field.