599 research outputs found
Seconds-scale coherence in a tweezer-array optical clock
Optical clocks based on atoms and ions achieve exceptional precision and
accuracy, with applications to relativistic geodesy, tests of relativity, and
searches for dark matter. Achieving such performance requires balancing
competing desirable features, including a high particle number, isolation of
atoms from collisions, insensitivity to motional effects, and high duty-cycle
operation. Here we demonstrate a new platform based on arrays of ultracold
strontium atoms confined within optical tweezers that realizes a novel
combination of these features by providing a scalable platform for isolated
atoms that can be interrogated multiple times. With this tweezer-array clock,
we achieve greater than 3 second coherence times and record duty cycles up to
96%, as well as stability commensurate with leading platforms. By using optical
tweezer arrays --- a proven platform for the controlled creation of
entanglement through microscopic control --- this work further promises a new
path toward combining entanglement enhanced sensitivities with the most precise
optical clock transitions
An ultrastable silicon cavity in a continuously operating closed-cycle cryostat at 4 K
We report on a laser locked to a silicon cavity operating continuously at 4 K
with instability and a median linewidth of 17 mHz at 1542
nm. This is a ten-fold improvement in short-term instability, and a
improvement in linewidth, over previous sub-10 K systems. Operating at low
temperatures reduces the thermal noise floor, and thus is advantageous toward
reaching an instability of , a long-sought goal of the optical clock
community. The performance of this system demonstrates the technical readiness
for the development of the next generation of ultrastable lasers that operate
with ultranarrow linewidth and long-term stability without user intervention.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Synergistic exploitation of hyper- and multispectral Sentinel measurements to determine Phytoplankton Functional Types at best spatial and temporal resolution (SynSenPFT)
We derive the chlorophyll a concentration (Chla) for three main phytoplankton functional types (PFTs) – diatoms, coccolithophores and cyanobacteria – by combining satellite multispectral-based information, being of a high spatial and temporal resolution, with retrievals based on high resolution of PFT absorption properties derived from hyperspectral satellite measurements. The multispectral-based PFT Chla retrievals are based on a revised version of the empirical OC-PFT algorithm applied to the Ocean Color Climate Change Initiative (OC-CCI) total Chla product. The PhytoDOAS analytical algorithm is used with some modifications to derive PFT Chla from SCIAMACHY hyperspectral measurements. To combine synergistically these two PFT products (OC-PFT and PhytoDOAS), an optimal interpolation is performed for each PFT in every OC-PFT sub-pixel within a PhytoDOAS pixel, given its Chla and its a priori error statistics. The synergistic product (SynSenPFT) is presented for the period of August 2002 March 2012 and evaluated against PFT Chla data obtained from in situ marker pigment data and the NASA Ocean Biogeochemical Model simulations and satellite information on phytoplankton size. The most challenging aspects of the SynSenPFT algorithm implementation are discussed. Perspectives on SynSenPFT product improvements and prolongation of the time series over the next decades by adaptation to Sentinel multi- and hyperspectral instruments are highlighted
Ultra-low phase noise squeezed vacuum source for gravitational wave detectors
Squeezed states of light are a valuable resource for reducing quantum noise in precision measurements. Injection of squeezed vacuum states has emerged as an important technique for reducing quantum shot noise, which is a fundamental limitation to the sensitivity of interferometric gravitational wave detectors. Realizing the most benefit from squeezed-state injection requires lowering optical losses and also minimizing squeezed quadrature fluctuations—or phase noise—to ensure that the large noise in the anti-squeezed quadrature does not contaminate the measurement quadrature. Here, we present an audio band squeezed vacuum source with 1.3+0.7−0.5 mrad of phase noise. This is a nearly tenfold improvement over previously reported measurements, improving prospects for squeezing enhancements in current and future gravitational wave detectors
Precision Metrology Meets Cosmology: Improved Constraints on Ultralight Dark Matter from Atom-Cavity Frequency Comparisons
We conduct frequency comparisons between a state-of-the-art strontium optical
lattice clock, a cryogenic crystalline silicon cavity, and a hydrogen maser to
set new bounds on the coupling of ultralight dark matter to Standard Model
particles and fields in the mass range of eV. The key
advantage of this two-part ratio comparison is the differential sensitivities
to time variation of both the fine-structure constant and the electron mass,
achieving a substantially improved limit on the moduli of ultralight dark
matter, particularly at higher masses than typical atomic spectroscopic
results. Furthermore, we demonstrate an extension of the search range to even
higher masses by use of dynamical decoupling techniques. These results
highlight the importance of using the best performing atomic clocks for
fundamental physics applications as all-optical timescales are increasingly
integrated with, and will eventually supplant, existing microwave timescales.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure
Corrigendum: Synergistic exploitation of hyper- and multi-spectral precursor sentinel measurements to determine phytoplankton functional types (SynSenPFT) [Front. Mar. Sci,(203),4] DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2017.00203
This is the final version. Available on open access from Frontiers Media via the DOI in this recordThe article to which this is the corrigendum is in ORE at http://hdl.handle.net/10871/38250In the original article, we neglected, but would like to acknowledge the North-German Supercomputing Alliance (HLRN) for providing HPC resources that have contributed to the research results reported in this paper. The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way
A tweezer clock with half-minute atomic coherence at optical frequencies and high relative stability
The preparation of large, low-entropy, highly coherent ensembles of identical
quantum systems is foundational for many studies in quantum metrology,
simulation, and information. Here, we realize these features by leveraging the
favorable properties of tweezer-trapped alkaline-earth atoms while introducing
a new, hybrid approach to tailoring optical potentials that balances
scalability, high-fidelity state preparation, site-resolved readout, and
preservation of atomic coherence. With this approach, we achieve trapping and
optical clock excited-state lifetimes exceeding seconds in ensembles of
approximately atoms. This leads to half-minute-scale atomic coherence
on an optical clock transition, corresponding to quality factors well in excess
of . These coherence times and atom numbers reduce the effect of
quantum projection noise to a level that is on par with leading atomic systems,
yielding a relative fractional frequency stability of
for synchronous clock comparisons
between sub-ensembles within the tweezer array. When further combined with the
microscopic control and readout available in this system, these results pave
the way towards long-lived engineered entanglement on an optical clock
transition in tailored atom arrays.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures (main text); 17 pages, 7 figures (supplemental
materials
Synergistic exploitation of hyper- and multi-spectral precursor sentinel measurements to determine phytoplankton functional types (SynSenPFT)
This is the final version. Available from Frontiers Media via the DOI in this record.The corrigendum to this article is in ORE at http://hdl.handle.net/10871/38256We derive the chlorophyll a concentration (Chla) for three main phytoplankton functional types (PFTs) - diatoms, coccolithophores and cyanobacteria - by combining satellite multispectral-based information, being of a high spatial and temporal resolution, with retrievals based on high resolution of PFT absorption properties derived from hyperspectral satellite measurements. The multispectral-based PFT Chla retrievals are based on a revised version of the empirical OC-PFT algorithm applied to the Ocean Color Climate Change Initiative (OC-CCI) total Chla product. The PhytoDOAS analytical algorithm is used with some modifications to derive PFT Chla from SCIAMACHY hyperspectral measurements. To combine synergistically these two PFT products (OC-PFT and PhytoDOAS), an optimal interpolation is performed for each PFT in every OC-PFT sub-pixel within a PhytoDOAS pixel, given its Chla and its a priori error statistics. The synergistic product (SynSenPFT) is presented for the period of August 2002 March 2012 and evaluated against PFT Chla data obtained from in situ marker pigment data and the NASA Ocean Biogeochemical Model simulations and satellite information on phytoplankton size. The most challenging aspects of the SynSenPFT algorithm implementation are discussed. Perspectives on SynSenPFT product improvements and prolongation of the time series over the next decades by adaptation to Sentinel multi- and hyperspectral instruments are highlighted.ESA SEOM SY-4Sci Synergy projectSFB/TR 172 (AC)3 “Arctic Amplification” subproject C03DFG-Priority Program SPP 1158 “Antarktis” PhySyn BU2913/3-1Helmholtz Climate Initiative REKLIMHelmholtz Association of German Research Centres (HGF
Optical clock intercomparison with precision in one hour
Improvements in atom-light coherence are foundational to progress in quantum
information science, quantum optics, and precision metrology. Optical atomic
clocks require local oscillators with exceptional optical coherence due to the
challenge of performing spectroscopy on their ultra-narrow linewidth clock
transitions. Advances in laser stabilization have thus enabled rapid progress
in clock precision. A new class of ultrastable lasers based on cryogenic
silicon reference cavities has recently demonstrated the longest optical
coherence times to date. In this work we utilize such a local oscillator, along
with a state-of-the-art frequency comb for coherence transfer, with two Sr
optical lattice clocks to achieve an unprecedented level of clock stability.
Through an anti-synchronous comparison, the fractional instability of both
clocks is assessed to be for an averaging time
in seconds. Synchronous interrogation reveals a quantum projection noise
dominated instability of , resulting in a
precision of after a single hour of averaging. The
ability to measure sub- level frequency shifts in such short
timescales will impact a wide range of applications for clocks in quantum
sensing and fundamental physics. For example, this precision allows one to
resolve the gravitational red shift from a 1 cm elevation change in only 20
minutes
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