English

Cryogenic optical lattice clocks with a relative frequency difference of $1\times 10^{-18}$

Atomic Physics 2014-05-19 v1

Abstract

Time and frequency are the most accurately measurable quantities, providing foundations for science and modern technologies. The accuracy relies on the SI (Syst\'eme International) second that refers to Cs microwave clocks with fractional uncertainties at 101610^{-16}. Recent revolutionary progress of optical clocks aims to achieve 1×10181\times 10^{-18} uncertainty, which however has been hindered by long averaging-times or by systematic uncertainties. Here, we demonstrate optical lattice clocks with 87^{87}Sr atoms interrogated in a cryogenic environment to address the blackbody radiation-induced frequency-shift, which remains the primary source of clocks' uncertainties and has initiated vigorous theoretical and experimental investigations. The quantum-limited stability for N1,000N \sim 1,000 atoms allows investigation of the uncertainties at 2×10182\times 10^{-18} in two hours of clock operation. After 11 measurements performed over a month, the two cryo-clocks agree to within (1.1±1.6)×1018(-1.1\pm 1.6)\times 10^{-18}. Besides its contribution to fundamental science and the redefinition of the SI second, such a speedy comparison of accurate clocks provides a means for relativistic geodesy.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1405.4071,
  title  = {Cryogenic optical lattice clocks with a relative frequency difference of $1\times 10^{-18}$},
  author = {Ichiro Ushijima and Masao Takamoto and Manoj Das and Takuya Ohkubo and Hidetoshi Katori},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1405.4071},
  year   = {2014}
}