16 research outputs found
Fibre-optic delivery of time and frequency to VLBI station
The quality of Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) radio observations
predominantly relies on precise and ultra-stable time and frequency (T&F)
standards, usually hydrogen masers (HM), maintained locally at each VLBI
station. Here, we present an operational solution in which the VLBI
observations are routinely carried out without use of a local HM, but using
remote synchronization via a stabilized, long-distance fibre-optic link. The
T&F reference signals, traceable to international atomic timescale (TAI), are
delivered to the VLBI station from a dedicated timekeeping laboratory.
Moreover, we describe a proof-of-concept experiment where the VLBI station is
synchronized to a remote strontium optical lattice clock during the
observation.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, matches the version published in A&A, section
Astronomical instrumentatio
Strontium optical lattice clocks for practical realization of the metre and secondary representation of the second
We present a system of two independent strontium optical lattice standards
probed with a single shared ultra-narrow laser. The absolute frequency of the
clocks can be verified by the use of Er:fiber optical frequency comb with the
GPS-disciplined Rb frequency standard. We report hertz-level spectroscopy of
the clock line and measurements of frequency stability of the two strontium
optical lattice clocks.Comment: This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article
accepted for publication in Meas. Sci. Technol. The publisher is not
responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or
any version derived from it. The Version of Record is available online at
doi:10.1088/0957-0233/26/7/07520
Line shape measurements of rubidium 5S-7S two-photon transition
We report the use of a digital lock to measure the line profile and center frequency of rubidium 5S-7S two-photon transitions with a cw laser referenced to an optical frequency comb. The narrow, two-photon transition, 5S-7S (760 nm), insensitive to first-order in a magnetic field, is a promising candidate for frequency reference
New bounds on dark matter coupling from a global network of optical atomic clocks
International audienceWe report on the first earth-scale quantum sensor network based on optical atomic clocks aimed at dark matter (DM) detection. Exploiting differences in the susceptibilities to the fine-structure constant of essential parts of an optical atomic clock, i.e. the cold atoms and the optical reference cavity, we can perform sensitive searches for dark matter signatures without the need of real-time comparisons of the clocks. We report a two orders of magnitude improvement in constraints on transient variations of the fine-structure constant, which considerably improves the detection limit for the standard model (SM) - DM coupling. We use Yb and Sr optical atomic clocks at four laboratories on three continents to search for both topological defect (TD) and massive scalar field candidates. No signal consistent with a dark-matter coupling is identified, leading to significantly improved constraints on the DM-SM couplings
Dark matter searches within the intercontinental opticalatomic clock network
International audienc
Analysis of optical atomic clocks readouts aimed onsearches for dark-matter signatures
International audienc
Analysis of optical atomic clocks readouts aimed onsearches for dark-matter signatures
International audienc
Analysis of optical atomic clocks readouts aimed onsearches for dark-matter signatures
International audienc
Analysis of optical atomic clocks readouts aimed onsearches for dark-matter signatures
International audienc