We evaluated the accuracy limit for estimating gravitational potential using optical lattice clocks by utilizing the quantum Cramér--Rao bound. We then compared the results for single-layer and multilayer optical lattice clocks. The results indicate that the lower bound of variance of the estimator of gravitational potential using finite-size optical lattice clocks diverges and recovers repeatedly as a function of time. Namely, the accuracy of the gravitational potential estimation is not a monotonic function of time owing to the effect of gravitational dephasing in finite-size optical lattice clock. Further, this effect creates an estimation accuracy limit when attempting to avoid the divergence of the lower bound. When the number of layers in the optical lattice clock is sufficiently large, the limit is independent of the optical lattice clock details. The time required to reach this limit is calculated to be approximately 33 hours for a three-dimensional optical lattice clock consisting of one million cadmium atoms due to Earth's gravity, and approximately the same for other atoms.
We evaluated the accuracy limit for estimating gravitational potential using optical lattice clocks by utilizing the quantum Cram\'er-Rao bound. We then compared the results for single-layer and multilayer optical lattice clocks. The results indicate that the lower bound of variance of the estimator of gravitational potential using finite-size optical lattice clocks diverges and recovers repeatedly as a function of time. Namely, the accuracy of the gravitational potential estimation is not a monotonic function of time owing to the effect of gravitational dephasing in finite-size optical lattice clocks. Further, this effect creates an estimation accuracy limit when attempting to avoid the divergence of the lower bound. When the number of layers in the optical lattice clock is sufficiently large, the limit is independent of the optical lattice clock details. The time required to reach this limit is calculated to be approximately 33 h for a three-dimensional optical lattice clock consisting of one million cadmium atoms due to Earth's gravity, and approximately the same for other atoms. This time is much longer than the current coherence time of 26s.
Frequency metrology underpins precise measurements. At the forefront of this field are optical clocks which can perform measurements that are accurate to more digits than those in the number representing seconds elapsed from the beginning of the universe. Frequency estimation errors in the operation of optical clocks lead to frequency instability, prohibiting them from reaching high accuracies on short to medium time scales, and limiting access to interesting measurements of the atomic environment and exotic external perturbations such as gravity fields or fields of fundamentally new physical origins. Optical lattice traps are typically employed in state-of-the-art optical clocks to suppress Doppler effects. By carefully tuning the optical lattice to the magic wavelength, unwanted Stark shifts can be suppressed significantly, allowing operation with thousands of atoms and minimising the fundamental source of frequency estimation errors, namely the quantum projection noise, to around 3 × 10−17 at 1 s. In this thesis, the status of the two Strontium optical lattice clocks at NPL, Sr1 and Sr2, is presented going over a few interesting measurement campaigns from the past years involving Sr1 and the latest experimental efforts to re-enable operation of Sr2. A model of clock stability is developed by incorporating known and new frameworks to characterise the relation between the operating parameters of optical clocks and their performance, with relevance to the NPL lattice clocks and beyond. In particular, a method is identified for addressing the main technical noise for optical lattice clocks, the Dick effect, which typically has a magnitude of 10−16 at 1 s and prevents optical lattice clocks from reaching the quantum projection noise level. By taking advantage of dynamical decoupling we can engineer an optimised duty cycle with benefits in general for systems limited by the optical coherence of the clock laser. Moreover, a study of other noise sources in the NPL lattice clocks is conducted using synchronous measurements between Sr1 and Sr2, revealing a large contribution from linear Zeeman shifts, also at the 10−16 level, and a plan to tackle them is detailed. A hybrid clock architecture is discussed showing how optical lattice clocks can improve the optical coherence of ion clocks thanks to their higher servo rate, and a preliminary experimental demonstration is reported. Finally, a new type of spectroscopy is presented which completely avoids aliasing of linear Zeeman shifts by simultaneously driving transitions with opposite Zeeman sensitivities. Such a technique also enables the continuous interrogation of atoms, a crucial missing component in the Dick-free conveyor belt lattice clock concept heralded as the next standard of stable optical clocks.