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Register a new userStability limits of an optical frequency standard based on free Ca atoms
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We have quantified a short term instability budget for an optical frequency standard based on cold, freely expanding calcium atoms. Such systems are the subject of renewed interest due to their high frequency stability and relative technical simplicity compared to trapped atom optical clocks. By filtering the clock laser light at 657 nm through a high finesse cavity, we observe a slight reduction in the optical Dick effect caused by aliased local oscillator noise. The ultimately limiting technical noise is measured using a technique that does not rely on a second clock or fs-comb.
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A two-photon transition in laser-cooled and trapped calcium atoms is proposed as the atomic reference in an optical frequency standard. An efficient scheme for interrogation of the frequency standard is described, and the sensitivity of the clock transition to systematic effects is estimated. Frequency standards based on this transition could lead to compact and portable devices that are capable of rapidly averaging down to $< 10^{-16}$.
We present and analyze four frequency measurements designed to characterize the performance of an optical frequency reference based on spectral hole burning in EuYSO. The first frequency comparison, between a single unperturbed spectral hole and a hydrogen maser, demonstrates a fractional frequency drift rate of $5 times 10^{-18}$ s$^{-1}$. Optical-frequency comparisons between a pattern of spectral holes, a Fabry-Perot cavity, and an Al$^+$ optical atomic clock show a short-term fractional frequency stability of $1 times10^{-15} tau^{-1/2}$ that averages down to $2.5^{+1.1}_{-0.5} times 10^{-16}$ at $tau = 540~s$ (with linear frequency drift removed). Finally, spectral hole patterns in two different EuYSO crystals located in the same cryogenic vessel are compared, yielding a short-term stability of $7 times10^{-16} tau^{-1/2}$ that averages down to $5.5^{+1.8}_{-0.9} times 10^{-17}$ at $tau = 204$~s (with quadratic frequency drift removed).
Optical frequency standards, lasers stabilized to atomic or molecular transitions, are widely used in length metrology and laser ranging, provide a backbone for optical communications and lie at the heart of next-generation optical atomic clocks. Here we demonstrate a compact, low-power optical frequency standard based on the Doppler-free, two-photon transition in rubidium-87 at 778 nm implemented on a micro-optics breadboard. The optical standard achieves a fractional frequency stability of 2.9x10$^{-12}$/$sqrt{tau}$ for averaging times $tau$ less than 10$^{3}$ s, has a volume of $approx$35 cm$^3$ and operates on $approx$450 mW of electrical power. These results demonstrate a key step towards the development of compact optical clocks and the broad dissemination of SI-traceable wavelength references.
We determine the transmission of light through a planar atomic array beyond the limit of low light intensity that displays optical bistability in the mean-field regime. We develop a theory describing the intrinsic optical bistability, which is supported purely by resonant dipole-dipole interactions in free space, showing how bistable light amplitudes exhibit both strong cooperative and weak single-atom responses and how they depend on the underlying low light intensity collective excitation eigenmodes. Similarities of the theory with optical bistability in cavities are highlighted, while recurrent light scattering between atoms takes on the role of cavity mirrors. Our numerics and analytic estimates show a sharp variation in the extinction, reflectivity, and group delays of the array, with the incident light completely extinguished up to a critical intensity well beyond the low light intensity limit. Our analysis paves a way for collective nonlinear optics with cooperatively responding dense atomic ensembles.
Single trapped ions are ideal systems in which to test atomic physics at high precision: they are effectively isolated atoms held at rest and largely free from perturbing interactions. This thesis describes several projects developed to study the structure of singly-ionized barium and more fundamental physics. First, we describe a spin-dependent electron-shelving scheme that allows us to perform single ion electron spin resonance experiments in both the ground 6S_{1/2} and metastable 5D_{3/2} states at precision levels of 10^{-5}. We employ this technique to measure the ratio of off-resonant light shifts (or ac-Stark effect) in these states to a precision of 10^{-3} at two different wavelengths. These results constitute a new high precision test of heavy-atom atomic theory. Such experimental tests in Ba+ are in high demand since knowledge of key dipole matrix elements is currently limited to about 5%. Ba+ has recently been the subject of theoretical interest towards a test of atomic parity violation for which knowledge of dipole matrix elements is an important prerequisite. We summarize this parity violation experimental concept and describe new ideas. (continued...)
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