Related papers: Analysis of atom-interferometer clocks
The sensitivity of an atomic interferometer increases when the phase evolution of its quantum superposition state is measured over a longer interrogation interval. In practice, a limit is set by the measurement process, which returns not…
We develop an abstract model of atomic clocks that fully describes the dynamics of repeated synchronization between a classical oscillator and a quantum reference. We prove existence of a stationary state of the model and study its…
We experimentally demonstrate a new interferometry paradigm: a self-interfering clock. We split a clock into two spatially separated wave packets, and observe an interference pattern with a stable phase showing that the splitting was…
Clock interferometry refers to the coherent splitting of a clock into two different paths and recombining in a way that reveals the proper time difference between them. Unlike the comparison of two separate clocks, this approach allows…
A fundamental description of time can be consistent not only with the usual monotonic behavior but also with a periodic physical clock variable, coupled to the degrees of freedom of a system evolving in time. Generically, one would in fact…
The phase of matter waves depends on proper time and is therefore susceptible to special-relativistic (kinematic) and gravitational (redshift) time dilation. Hence, it is conceivable that atom interferometers measure general-relativistic…
In the last years several theoretical papers discussed if time can be an emergent property deriving from quantum correlations. Here, to provide an insight into how this phenomenon can occur, we present an experiment that illustrates Page…
The classical and quantum dynamics of simple time-reparametrization- invariant models containing two degrees of freedom are studied in detail. Elimination of one ``clock'' variable through the Hamiltonian constraint leads to a description…
We characterize good clocks, which are naturally subject to fluctuations, in statistical terms. We also obtain the master equation that governs the evolution of quantum systems according to these clocks and find its general solution. This…
From the principle of equivalence, Einstein predicted that clocks slow down in a gravitational field. Since the general theory of relativity is based on the principle of equivalence, it is essential to test this prediction accurately.…
Optical clocks based on atoms and ions probe relativistic effects with unprecedented sensitivity by resolving time dilation due to atom motion or different positions in the gravitational potential through frequency shifts. However, all…
Measuring time means counting the occurrence of periodic phenomena. Over the past centuries a major effort was put to make stable and precise oscillators to be used as clock regulators. Here we consider a different class of clocks based on…
Atomic clocks provide a reproducible basis for our understanding of time and frequency. Recent demonstrations of compact optical clocks, employing thermal atomic beams, have achieved short-term fractional frequency instabilities in the…
We present a quantum open system theory of atom interferometers evolving in the quantized electromagnetic field bounded by an ideal conductor. Our treatment reveals an unprecedented feature of matter-wave propagation, namely the appearance…
Quantum time dilation occurs when a clock moves in a superposition of relativistic momentum wave packets. We utilize the lifetime of an excited hydrogen-like atom as a clock to demonstrate how quantum time dilation manifests in a…
We derive the time dilation formula for charged quantum clocks in electromagnetic fields. As a concrete example of non-inertial motion, we consider a cyclotron motion in a uniform magnetic field. Applying the time dilation formula to…
We describe protocols for passive atomic clocks based on quantum interrogation of the atoms. Unlike previous techniques, our protocols are adaptive and take advantage of prior information about the clock's state. To reduce deviations from…
In trapped-atom clocks, the primary source of decoherence is often the phase noise of the oscillator. For this case, we derive theoretical performance gains by combining several atomic ensembles. For example, M ensembles of N atoms can be…
We present a model of discrete quantum evolution based on quantum correlations between the evolving system and a reference quantum clock system. A quantum circuit for the model is provided, which in the case of a constant Hamiltonian is…
In the presence of Earth gravity and gravity-gradient forces, centrifugal and Coriolis forces caused by the Earth rotation, the phase of the time-domain atom interferometers is calculated with accuracy up to the terms proportional to the…