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arXiv:1103.0760 · Physical Review Letters

Atomic Clocks with Suppressed Blackbody Radiation Shift

Valeriy I. Yudin, А. В. Тайченачев, Maksim V. Okhapkin, Sergei N Bagayev, Chr. Tamm, E. Peik, Nils Huntemann, T. E. Mehlstäubler, F. Riehle

Published Jul 14, 2011• 48 citations
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Abstract

We develop a concept of atomic clocks where the blackbody radiation shift and its fluctuations can be suppressed by 1--3 orders of magnitude independent of the environmental temperature. The suppression is based on the fact that in a system with two accessible clock transitions (with frequencies ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{1}$ and ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{2}$) which are exposed to the same thermal environment, there exists a ``synthetic'' frequency ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\mathrm{syn}}$ $\ensuremath{\propto}$ (${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{1}\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\epsilon}}_{12}{\ensuremath{\nu}}_{2}$) largely immune to the blackbody radiation shift. For example, in the case of $^{171}\mathrm{Yb}^{+}$ it is possible to create a synthetic-frequency-based clock in which the fractional blackbody radiation shift can be suppressed to the level of ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}18}$ in a broad interval near room temperature ($300\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}15\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{K}$). We also propose a realization of our method with the use of an optical frequency comb generator stabilized to both frequencies ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{1}$ and ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{2}$, where the frequency ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\mathrm{syn}}$ is generated as one of the components of the comb spectrum.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.107.030801

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We develop a concept of atomic clocks where the blackbody radiation shift and its fluctuations can be suppressed by 1--3 orders of magnitude independent of the environmental temperature. The suppression is based on the fact that in a system with two accessible clock transitions (with frequencies \ensuremathν1{\ensuremath{\nu}}_{1}\ensuremathν1​ and \ensuremathν2{\ensuremath{\nu}}_{2}\ensuremathν2​) which are exposed to the same thermal environment, there exists a ``synthetic'' frequency \ensuremathνsyn{\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\mathrm{syn}}\ensuremathνsyn​ \ensuremath∝\ensuremath{\propto}\ensuremath∝ (\ensuremathν1\ensuremath−\ensuremathϵ12\ensuremathν2{\ensuremath{\nu}}_{1}\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\epsilon}}_{12}{\ensuremath{\nu}}_{2}\ensuremathν1​\ensuremath−\ensuremathϵ12​\ensuremathν2​) largely immune to the blackbody radiation shift. For example, in the case of 171Yb+^{171}\mathrm{Yb}^{+}171Yb+ it is possible to create a synthetic-frequency-based clock in which the fractional blackbody radiation shift can be suppressed to the level of 10\ensuremath−18{10}^{\ensuremath{-}18}10\ensuremath−18 in a broad interval near room temperature (300\ifmmode±\else\textpm\fi15  K300\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}15\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{K}300\ifmmode±\else\textpm\fi15  K). We also propose a realization of our method with the use of an optical frequency comb generator stabilized to both frequencies \ensuremathν1{\ensuremath{\nu}}_{1}\ensuremathν1​ and \ensuremathν2{\ensuremath{\nu}}_{2}\ensuremathν2​, where the frequency \ensuremathνsyn{\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\mathrm{syn}}\ensuremathνsyn​ is generated as one of the components of the comb spectrum.
Abstract We develop a method of synthetic frequency generation to construct an atomic clock with blackbody radiation (BBR) shift uncertainties below 10−19 at environmental conditions with a very low level of temperature control. The proposed method can be implemented for atoms and ions, which have two different clock transitions with frequencies ν 1 and ν 2 allowing to form a synthetic reference frequency ν syn = (ν 1 − ɛν 2)/(1 − ɛ), which is absent in the spectrum of the involved atoms or ions. Calibration coefficient ɛ can be chosen such that the temperature dependence of the BBR shift for the synthetic frequency ν syn has a local extremum at an arbitrary operating temperature T 0. This leads to a weak sensitivity of BBR shift with respect to the temperature variations near operating temperature T 0. As a specific example, the Yb+ ion is studied in detail, where the utilized optical clock transitions are of electric quadrupole (S → D) and octupole (S → F) type. In this case, temperature variations of ±7 K lead to BBR shift uncertainties of less than 10−19, showing the possibility to construct ultra-precise combined atomic clocks (including portable ones) without the use of cryogenic techniques.
We develop a universal method to significantly suppress probe-induced shifts in any type of atomic clock using Ramsey spectroscopy. Our approach is based on the adaptation of the synthetic frequency concept [V. I. Yudin et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 030801 (2011)] (previously developed for blackbody radiation shift suppression) to Ramsey spectroscopy with the use of interrogations with different dark time intervals. The most significant suppression of the shift is obtained in combination with the so-called hyper-Ramsey spectroscopy technique [V. I. Yudin et al., Phys. Rev. A 82, 011804(R) (2010)]. In this case, the probe-induced frequency shifts can be suppressed considerably from metrologically significant levels to below a fractional level of ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}18}$ for practically any optical atomic clocks. The main advantage of our method in comparison with other hyper-Ramsey approaches [R. Hobson et al., Phys. Rev. A 93, 010501(R) (2016); T. Zanon-Willette et al., Phys. Rev. A 93, 042506 (2016)] derives from its much greater efficiency and robustness in the presence of decoherence.
In order to suppress the blackbody radiation shift of ytterbium (Yb) lattice clock, we adopt the idea of the synthetic frequency by means of the two clock transitions which correspond to the static values of the scalar and tensor dipole polarizabilities with the AMBiT software package. We have obtained the synthetic wavelength around 647.7 nm and expected when the clock laser is working at the synthetic wavelength, the systematic uncertainty due to the BBR shift can be suppressed at the level of 10 −18 or even lower.
The Stark shift due to blackbody radiation (BBR) is the key factor limiting the performance of many atomic frequency standards, with the BBR environment inside the clock apparatus being difficult to characterize at a high level of precision. Here we demonstrate an in-vacuum radiation shield that furnishes a uniform, well-characterized BBR environment for the atoms in an ytterbium optical lattice clock. Operated at room temperature, this shield enables specification of the BBR environment to a corresponding fractional clock uncertainty contribution of 5.5×10(-19). Combined with uncertainty in the atomic response, the total uncertainty of the BBR Stark shift is now 1×10(-18). Further operation of the shield at elevated temperatures enables a direct measure of the BBR shift temperature dependence and demonstrates consistency between our evaluated BBR environment and the expected atomic response.
Atomic clocks use atomic transitions as frequency references. The susceptibility of the atomic transition to external fields limits clock stability and introduces systematic frequency shifts. Here, we propose to realize an atomic clock that utilizes an entangled superposition of states of multiple atomic species, where the reference frequency is a sum of the individual transition frequencies. The superposition is selected such that the susceptibilities of the respective transitions, in individual species, partially cancel leading to improved stability and a reduction in the corresponding systematic shifts. We present and analyze two examples of such combinations. The first uses the optical quadrupole transitions in a Ca + – Yb + two-ion system. The second is a superposition of optical quadrupole transitions in one Sr + ion and three Hg + ions. These combinations have reduced susceptibility to external magnetic fields and blackbody radiation.
We present nonstandard optical Ramsey schemes that use pulses individually tailored in duration, phase, and frequency to cancel spurious frequency shifts related to the excitation itself. In particular, the field shifts and their uncertainties can be radically suppressed (by two to four orders of magnitude) in comparison with the usual Ramsey method (using two equal pulses) as well as with single-pulse Rabi spectroscopy. Atom interferometers and optical clocks based on two-photon transitions, heavily forbidden transitions, or magnetically induced spectroscopy could significantly benefit from this method. In the latter case, these frequency shifts can be suppressed considerably below a fractional level of 101010${}^{\ensuremath{-}17}$. Moreover, our approach opens the door for high-precision optical clocks based on direct frequency comb spectroscopy.