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Register a new userStrontium optical lattice clocks for practical realization of the metre and secondary representation of the second
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We present a system of two independent strontium optical lattice standards probed with a single shared ultra-narrow laser. The absolute frequency of the clocks can be verified by the use of Er:fiber optical frequency comb with the GPS-disciplined Rb frequency standard. We report hertz-level spectroscopy of the clock line and measurements of frequency stability of the two strontium optical lattice clocks.
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Progress in realizing the SI second had multiple technological impacts and enabled to further constraint theoretical models in fundamental physics. Caesium microwave fountains, realizing best the second according to its current definition with a relative uncertainty of 2-4x10^(-16), have already been superseded by atomic clocks referenced to an optical transition, both more stable and more accurate. Are we ready for a new definition of the second? Here we present an important step in this direction: our system of five clocks connects with an unprecedented consistency the optical and the microwave worlds. For the first time, two state-of-the-art strontium optical lattice clocks are proven to agree within their accuracy budget, with a total uncertainty of 1.6x10^(-16). Their comparison with three independent caesium fountains shows a degree of reproducibility henceforth solely limited at the level of 3.1x10^(-16) by the best realizations of the microwave-defined second.
Electrometry is performed using Rydberg states to evaluate the quadratic Stark shift of the $5s^2$ $^1textrm{S}_0-5s5p$ $^3textrm{P}_0$ clock transition in strontium. By measuring the Stark shift of the highly excited $5s75d;^1textrm{D}_2$ state using electromagnetically induced transparency, we characterize the electric field with sufficient precision to provide tight constraints on the systematic shift to the clock transition. Using the theoretically derived, and experimentally verified, polarizability for this Rydberg state we can measure the residual field with an uncertainty well below $1 textrm{V} textrm{m}^{-1}$. This resolution allows us to constrain the fractional frequency uncertainty of the quadratic Stark shift of the clock transition to $2times10^{-20}$.
The pursuit of ever more precise measures of time and frequency is likely to lead to the eventual redefinition of the second in terms of an optical atomic transition. To ensure continuity with the current definition, based on a microwave transition between hyperfine levels in ground-state $^{133}$Cs, it is necessary to measure the absolute frequency of candidate standards, which is done by comparing against a primary cesium reference. A key verification of this process can be achieved by performing a loop closure$-$comparing frequency ratios derived from absolute frequency measurements against ratios determined from direct optical comparisons. We measure the $^1$S$_0!rightarrow^3$P$_0$ transition of $^{171}$Yb by comparing the clock frequency to an international frequency standard with the aid of a maser ensemble serving as a flywheel oscillator. Our measurements consist of 79 separate runs spanning eight months, and we determine the absolute frequency to be 518 295 836 590 863.71(11) Hz, the uncertainty of which is equivalent to a fractional frequency of $2.1times10^{-16}$. This absolute frequency measurement, the most accurate reported for any transition, allows us to close the Cs-Yb-Sr-Cs frequency measurement loop at an uncertainty of $<$3$times10^{-16}$, limited by the current realization of the SI second. We use these measurements to tighten the constraints on variation of the electron-to-proton mass ratio, $mu=m_e/m_p$. Incorporating our measurements with the entire record of Yb and Sr absolute frequency measurements, we infer a coupling coefficient to gravitational potential of $k_mathrm{mu}=(-1.9pm 9.4)times10^{-7}$ and a drift with respect to time of $frac{dotmu}{mu}=(5.3 pm 6.5)times10^{-17}/$yr.
Ultra-precise optical clocks in space will allow new studies in fundamental physics and astronomy. Within an European Space Agency (ESA) program, the Space Optical Clocks (SOC) project aims to install and to operate an optical lattice clock on the International Space Station (ISS) towards the end of this decade. It would be a natural follow-on to the ACES mission, improving its performance by at least one order of magnitude. The payload is planned to include an optical lattice clock, as well as a frequency comb, a microwave link, and an optical link for comparisons of the ISS clock with ground clocks located in several countries and continents. Within the EU-FP7-SPACE-2010-1 project no. 263500, during the years 2011-2015 a compact, modular and robust strontium lattice optical clock demonstrator has been developed. Goal performance is a fractional frequency instability below 1x10^{-15}, tau^{-1/2} and a fractional inaccuracy below 5x10^{-17}. Here we describe the current status of the apparatus development, including the laser subsystems. Robust preparation of cold {88}^Sr atoms in a second stage magneto-optical trap (MOT) is achieved.
The ESA mission Space Optical Clock project aims at operating an optical lattice clock on the ISS in approximately 2023. The scientific goals of the mission are to perform tests of fundamental physics, to enable space-assisted relativistic geodesy and to intercompare optical clocks on the ground using microwave and optical links. The performance goal of the space clock is less than $1 times 10^{-17}$ uncertainty and $1 times 10^{-15} {tau}^{-1/2}$ instability. Within an EU-FP7-funded project, a strontium optical lattice clock demonstrator has been developed. Goal performances are instability below $1 times 10^{-15} {tau}^{-1/2}$ and fractional inaccuracy $5 times 10^{-17}$. For the design of the clock, techniques and approaches suitable for later space application are used, such as modular design, diode lasers, low power consumption subunits, and compact dimensions. The Sr clock apparatus is fully operational, and the clock transition in $^{88}$Sr was observed with linewidth as small as 9 Hz.
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