368 research outputs found
Rapid cosmic-ray acceleration at perpendicular shocks in supernova remnants
Perpendicular shocks are shown to be rapid particle accelerators that perform
optimally when the ratio of the shock speed to the particle speed
roughly equals the ratio of the scattering rate to the gyro frequency.
We use analytical methods and Monte-Carlo simulations to solve the kinetic
equation that governs the anisotropy generated at these shocks, and find, for
, that the spectral index softens by unity and the
acceleration time increases by a factor of two compared to the standard result
of diffusive shock acceleration theory. These results provide a theoretical
basis for the thirty-year-old conjecture that a supernova exploding into the
wind of a Wolf-Rayet star may accelerate protons to an energy exceeding
eV.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
An Optical Lattice Clock with Spin-polarized 87Sr Atoms
We present a new evaluation of an 87Sr optical lattice clock using spin
polarized atoms. The frequency of the 1S0-3P0 clock transition is found to be
429 228 004 229 873.6 Hz with a fractional accuracy of 2.6 10^{-15}, a value
that is comparable to the frequency difference between the various primary
standards throughout the world. This measurement is in excellent agreement with
a previous one of similar accuracy
Trapping of Neutral Mercury Atoms and Prospects for Optical Lattice Clocks
We report a vapor-cell magneto-optical trapping of Hg isotopes on the
intercombination transition. Six abundant isotopes, including
four bosons and two fermions, were trapped. Hg is the heaviest non-radioactive
atom trapped so far, which enables sensitive atomic searches for ``new
physics'' beyond the standard model. We propose an accurate optical lattice
clock based on Hg and evaluate its systematic accuracy to be better than
. Highly accurate and stable Hg-based clocks will provide a new
avenue for the research of optical lattice clocks and the time variation of the
fine-structure constant.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Accuracy Evaluation of an Optical Lattice Clock with Bosonic Atoms
We report the first accuracy evaluation of an optical lattice clock based on
the 1S0 - 3P0 transition of an alkaline earth boson, namely 88Sr atoms. This
transition has been enabled using a static coupling magnetic field. The clock
frequency is determined to be 429 228 066 418 009(32) Hz. The isotopic shift
between 87Sr and 88Sr is 62 188 135 Hz with fractional uncertainty 5.10^{-7}.
We discuss the conditions necessary to reach a clock accuracy of 10^{-17} or
less using this scheme.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures, uses ol.sty fil
Ultrastable Optical Clock with Neutral Atoms in an Engineered Light Shift Trap
An ultrastable optical clock based on neutral atoms trapped in an optical
lattice is proposed. Complete control over the light shift is achieved by
employing the transition of
atoms as a "clock transition". Calculations of ac multipole polarizabilities
and dipole hyperpolarizabilities for the clock transition indicate that the
contribution of the higher-order light shifts can be reduced to less than 1
mHz, allowing for a projected accuracy of better than .Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let
Possibility of an ultra-precise optical clock using the transition in Yb atoms held in an optical lattice
We report calculations designed to assess the ultimate precision of an atomic
clock based on the 578 nm transition in Yb atoms
confined in an optical lattice trap. We find that this transition has a natural
linewidth less than 10 mHz in the odd Yb isotopes, caused by hyperfine
coupling. The shift in this transition due to the trapping light acting through
the lowest order AC polarizability is found to become zero at the magic trap
wavelength of about 752 nm. The effects of Rayleigh scattering, higher-order
polarizabilities, vector polarizability, and hyperfine induced electronic
magnetic moments can all be held below a mHz (about a part in 10^{18}), except
in the case of the hyperpolarizability larger shifts due to nearly resonant
terms cannot be ruled out without an accurate measurement of the magic
wavelength.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur
Accurate spectroscopy of Sr atoms
We report the frequency measurement with an accuracy in the 100 kHz range of
several optical transitions of atomic Sr : at 689 nm, at 688 nm and at 679 nm. Measurements are performed with
a frequency chain based on a femtosecond laser referenced to primary frequency
standards. They allowed the indirect determination with a 70 kHz uncertainty of
the frequency of the doubly forbidden 5s^2^1S_0- 5s5p^3P_0 transition of
Sr at 698 nm and in a second step its direct observation. Frequency
measurements are performed for Sr and Sr, allowing the
determination of , and isotope shifts, as well as the
hyperfine constants.Comment: 12 pages, 16 figure
A high stability semiconductor laser system for a Sr-based optical lattice clock
We describe a frequency stabilized diode laser at 698 nm used for high
resolution spectroscopy of the 1S0-3P0 strontium clock transition. For the
laser stabilization we use state-of-the-art symmetrically suspended optical
cavities optimized for very low thermal noise at room temperature. Two-stage
frequency stabilization to high finesse optical cavities results in measured
laser frequency noise about a factor of three above the cavity thermal noise
between 2 Hz and 11 Hz. With this system, we demonstrate high resolution remote
spectroscopy on the 88Sr clock transition by transferring the laser output over
a phase-noise-compensated 200 m-long fiber link between two separated
laboratories. Our dedicated fiber link ensures a transfer of the optical
carrier with frequency stability of 7 \cdot 10^{-18} after 100 s integration
time, which could enable the observation of the strontium clock transition with
an atomic Q of 10^{14}. Furthermore, with an eye towards the development of
transportable optical clocks, we investigate how the complete laser system
(laser+optics+cavity) can be influenced by environmental disturbances in terms
of both short- and long-term frequency stability.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures, submitted to Appl. Phys.
The optical calcium frequency standards of PTB and NIST
We describe the current status of the Ca optical frequency standards with
laser-cooled neutral atoms realized in two different laboratories for the
purpose of developing a possible future optical atomic clock.
Frequency measurements performed at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt
(PTB) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) make the
frequency of the clock transition of 40Ca one of the best known optical
frequencies (relative uncertainty 1.2e-14) and the measurements of this
frequency in both laboratories agree to well within their respective
uncertainties.
Prospects for improvement by orders of magnitude in the relative uncertainty
of the standard look feasible.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, to appear in Comptes Rendus Physiqu
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