A multi-ion optical clock with $\mathbf{5 \times 10^{-19}}$ uncertainty
Abstract
Today's most accurate clocks are based on laser spectroscopy of electronic transitions in single trapped ions and feature fractional frequency uncertainties below . Scaling these systems to multiple, simultaneously interrogated ions reduces measurement times, driving recent advances in multi-ion clocks. However, maintaining state-of-the-art systematic uncertainties while increasing the number of ions remains a central challenge. Here, we report on a multi-ion optical atomic clock with a fractional frequency uncertainty of and up to 10 \Sr ions. Ion-resolved state detection enables minimization of position-dependent shifts, with residual effects suppressed below the -level. Clock operation with eight to ten ions reduces the measurement time by a factor of 4.8 compared to single-ion operation. A comparison with an established \Yb single-ion clock yields an unperturbed frequency ratio of , with a statistical uncertainty of and a combined uncertainty of . These results demonstrate robust multi-ion clock operation with reduced averaging time and state-of-the-art accuracy.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2603.23446,
title = {A multi-ion optical clock with $\mathbf{5 \times 10^{-19}}$ uncertainty},
author = {Melina Filzinger and Martin R. Steinel and Jian Jiang and Daniel Bennett and Tanja E. Mehlstäubler and Ekkehard Peik and Nils Huntemann},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2603.23446},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
11 pages, 4 figures