383 research outputs found
External-field shifts of the 199Hg+ optical frequency standard
Frequency shifts of the ^199Hg^+ 5d^10 6s ^2S_1/2 (F=0, M_F=0) to 5d^9 6s^2
^2D_5/2 (F=2, M_F=0) electric-quadrupole transition at 282 nm due to external
fields are calculated, based on a combination of measured atomic parameters and
ab initio calculations. This transition is under investigation as an optical
frequency standard. The perturbations calculated are the quadratic Zeeman
shift, the scalar and tensor quadratic Stark shifts, and the interaction
between an external electric field gradient and the atomic quadrupole moment.
The quadrupole shift is likely to be the most difficult to evaluate in a
frequency standard and may have a magnitude of about 1 Hz for a single ion in a
Paul trap.Comment: 9 pages, RevTeX 4, submitted to J. Research of the National Institute
of Standards and Technolog
Testing the stability of fundamental constants with the 199Hg+ single-ion optical clock
Over a two-year duration, we have compared the frequency of the 199Hg+ 5d106s
2S 1/2 (F=0) 5d9 6s2 2D 5/2 (F=2) electric-quadrupole transition at 282 nm
with the frequency of the ground-state hyperfine splitting in neutral 133Cs.
These measurements show that any fractional time variation of the ratio
nu(Cs)/nu(Hg) between the two frequencies is smaller than +/- 7 10^-15 / yr (1
sigma uncertainty). According to recent atomic structure calculations, this
sets an upper limit to a possible fractional time variation of g(Cs) m_e / m_p
alpha^6.0 at the same level.Comment: 4 pages with 3 figures. RevTeX 4, Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Sub-dekahertz ultraviolet spectroscopy of 199Hg+
Using a laser that is frequency-locked to a Fabry-Perot etalon of high
finesse and stability, we probe the 5d10 6s 2S_1/2 (F=0) - 5d9 6s 2D_5/2 (F=2)
Delta-m_F = 0 electric-quadrupole transition of a single laser-cooled 199Hg+
ion stored in a cryogenic radio-frequency ion trap. We observe
Fourier-transform limited linewidths as narrow as 6.7 Hz at 282 nm (1.06 X
10^15 Hz), yielding a line Q = 1.6 X 10^14. We perform a preliminary
measurement of the 5d9 6s2 2D_5/2 electric-quadrupole shift due to interaction
with the static fields of the trap, and discuss the implications for future
trapped-ion optical frequency standards.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted for publicatio
Progress on indium and barium single ion optical frequency standards
We report progress on 115In+ and 137Ba+ single ion optical frequency
standards using all solid-state sources. Both are free from quadrupole field
shifts and together enable a search for drift in fundamental constants.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure, submitted to IEEE/LEOS Summer 2005 Topicals
conference proceeding
Radium single-ion optical clock
We explore the potential of the electric quadrupole transitions
7s\,^2S_{1/2} - 6d\,^2D_{3/2}, 6d\,^2D_{5/2} in radium isotopes as
single-ion optical frequency standards. The frequency shifts of the clock
transitions due to external fields and the corresponding uncertainties are
calculated. Several competitive Ra candidates with 223 - 229 are
identified. In particular, we show that the transition
7s\,^2S_{1/2}\,(F=2,m_F=0) - 6d\,^2D_{3/2}\,(F=0,m_F=0) at 828 nm in
Ra, with no linear Zeeman and electric quadrupole shifts, stands
out as a relatively simple case, which could be exploited as a compact, robust,
and low-cost atomic clock operating at a fractional frequency uncertainty of
. With more experimental effort, the Ra clocks
could be pushed to a projected performance reaching the level.Comment: 20 pages, 1 figur
Frequency ratios of Sr, Yb and Hg based optical lattice clocks and their applications
This article describes the recent progress of optical lattice clocks with
neutral strontium (Sr), ytterbium (Yb) and mercury (Hg)
atoms. In particular, we present frequency comparison between the clocks
locally via an optical frequency comb and between two Sr clocks at remote sites
using a phase-stabilized fibre link. We first review cryogenic Sr optical
lattice clocks that reduce the room-temperature blackbody radiation shift by
two orders of magnitude and serve as a reference in the following clock
comparisons. Similar physical properties of Sr and Yb atoms, such as transition
wavelengths and vapour pressure, have allowed our development of a compatible
clock for both species. A cryogenic Yb clock is evaluated by referencing a Sr
clock. We also report on a Hg clock, which shows one order of magnitude less
sensitivity to blackbody radiation, while its large nuclear charge makes the
clock sensitive to the variation of fine-structure constant. Connecting all
three types of clocks by an optical frequency comb, the ratios of the clock
frequencies are determined with uncertainties smaller than possible through
absolute frequency measurements. Finally, we describe a synchronous frequency
comparison between two Sr-based remote clocks over a distance of 15 km between
RIKEN and the University of Tokyo, as a step towards relativistic geodesy.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, invited review article in Comptes Rendus de
Physique 201
Absolute Frequency Measurements of the Hg^+ and Ca Optical Clock Transitions with a Femtosecond Laser
The frequency comb created by a femtosecond mode-locked laser and a
microstructured fiber is used to phase coherently measure the frequencies of
both the Hg^+ and Ca optical standards with respect to the SI second as
realized at NIST. We find the transition frequencies to be f_Hg=1 064 721 609
899 143(10) Hz and f_Ca=455 986 240 494 158(26) Hz, respectively. In addition
to the unprecedented precision demonstrated here, this work is the precursor to
all-optical atomic clocks based on the Hg^+ and Ca standards. Furthermore, when
combined with previous measurements, we find no time variations of these atomic
frequencies within the uncertainties of |(df_Ca/dt)/f_Ca| < 8 x 10^{-14}
yr^{-1}, and |(df_Hg/dt)/f_Hg|< 30 x 10^{-14} yr^{-1}.Comment: 6 pages, including 4 figures. RevTex 4. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Evaluation of the ultimate performances of a Ca+ single-ion frequency standard
We numerically evaluate the expected performances of an optical frequency
standard at 729 nm based on a single calcium ion. The frequency stability is
studied through the Allan deviation and its dependence on the excitation method
(single Rabi pulse or two Ramsey pulses schemes) and the laser linewidth are
discussed. The minimum Allan deviation that can be expected is estimated to
with the
integration time. The frequency shifts induced by the environmental conditions
are evaluated to minimize the uncertainty of the proposed standard by chosing
the most suited environment for the ion. If using the odd isotope
Ca and a vessel cooled to 77 K, the expected relative shift is with an uncertainty of , mainly due to
the quadrupole shift induced by the unknown static electric field gradient .Comment: soumis le 27/07/04 a Physics Letters
'Designer atoms' for quantum metrology
Entanglement is recognized as a key resource for quantum computation and
quantum cryptography. For quantum metrology, the use of entangled states has
been discussed and demonstrated as a means of improving the signal-to-noise
ratio. In addition, entangled states have been used in experiments for
efficient quantum state detection and for the measurement of scattering
lengths. In quantum information processing, manipulation of individual quantum
bits allows for the tailored design of specific states that are insensitive to
the detrimental influences of an environment. Such 'decoherence-free subspaces'
protect quantum information and yield significantly enhanced coherence times.
Here we use a decoherence-free subspace with specifically designed entangled
states to demonstrate precision spectroscopy of a pair of trapped Ca+ ions; we
obtain the electric quadrupole moment, which is of use for frequency standard
applications. We find that entangled states are not only useful for enhancing
the signal-to-noise ratio in frequency measurements - a suitably designed pair
of atoms also allows clock measurements in the presence of strong technical
noise. Our technique makes explicit use of non-locality as an entanglement
property and provides an approach for 'designed' quantum metrology
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