We use 6 yrs of accurate hyperfine frequency comparison data of the dual rubidium and caesium cold atom fountain FO2 at LNE-SYRTE to search for a massive scalar dark matter candidate. Such a scalar ...field can induce harmonic variations of the fine structure constant, of the mass of fermions, and of the quantum chromodynamic mass scale, which will directly impact the rubidium/caesium hyperfine transition frequency ratio. We find no signal consistent with a scalar dark matter candidate but provide improved constraints on the coupling of the putative scalar field to standard matter. Our limits are complementary to previous results that were only sensitive to the fine structure constant and improve them by more than an order of magnitude when only a coupling to electromagnetism is assumed.
Leveraging the unrivalled performance of optical clocks as key tools for geo-science, for astronomy and for fundamental physics beyond the standard model requires comparing the frequency of distant ...optical clocks faithfully. Here, we report on the comparison and agreement of two strontium optical clocks at an uncertainty of 5 × 10(-17) via a newly established phase-coherent frequency link connecting Paris and Braunschweig using 1,415 km of telecom fibre. The remote comparison is limited only by the instability and uncertainty of the strontium lattice clocks themselves, with negligible contributions from the optical frequency transfer. A fractional precision of 3 × 10(-17) is reached after only 1,000 s averaging time, which is already 10 times better and more than four orders of magnitude faster than any previous long-distance clock comparison. The capability of performing high resolution international clock comparisons paves the way for a redefinition of the unit of time and an all-optical dissemination of the SI-second.
In this paper we report the evaluation of an optical lattice clock based on neutral mercury with a relative uncertainty of 1.7 × 10 − 16 . Comparing this characterized frequency standard to a 133Cs ...atomic fountain we determine the absolute frequency of the 1 S 0 → 3 P 0 transition of 199Hg as Hg = 1128 575 290 808 154.62 Hz 0.19 Hz ( statistical ) 0.38 Hz (systematic), limited solely by the realization of the SI second. Furthermore, by comparing the mercury optical lattice clock to a 87Rb atomic fountain, we determine for the first time to our knowledge the ratio between the 199Hg clock transition and the 87Rb ground state hyperfine transition. Finally we present a direct optical to optical measurement of the 199Hg/87Sr frequency ratio. The obtained value of Hg / Sr = 2.629 314 209 898 909 15 with a fractional uncertainty of 1.8 × 10 − 16 is in excellent agreement with a similar measurement obtained by Yamanaka et al (2015 Phys. Rev. Lett. 114 230801). This makes this frequency ratio one of the few physical quantities agreed upon by different laboratories to this level of uncertainty. Frequency ratio measurements of the kind reported in this paper have a strong impact for frequency metrology and fundamental physics as they can be used to monitor putative variations of fundamental constants.
Progress in realizing the SI second had multiple technological impacts and enabled further constraint of theoretical models in fundamental physics. Caesium microwave fountains, realizing best the ...second according to its current definition with a relative uncertainty of 2-4 × 10(-16), have already been overtaken by atomic clocks referenced to an optical transition, which are both more stable and more accurate. Here we present an important step in the direction of a possible new definition of the second. Our system of five clocks connects with an unprecedented consistency the optical and the microwave worlds. For the first time, two state-of-the-art strontium optical lattice clocks are proven to agree within their accuracy budget, with a total uncertainty of 1.5 × 10(-16). Their comparison with three independent caesium fountains shows a degree of accuracy now only limited by the best realizations of the microwave-defined second, at the level of 3.1 × 10(-16).
We report the first contribution to international atomic time (TAI) based on a secondary representation of the SI second. This work is done with the LNE-SYRTE FO2-Rb fountain frequency standard using ...the 87Rb ground-state hyperfine transition. We describe FO2-Rb and how it is connected to local and international time scales. We report on local measurements of this frequency standard in the SI system, i.e. against primary frequency standards (PFSs), down to a fractional uncertainty of 4.4 × 10−16, and on the establishment of the recommended value for the 87Rb hyperfine transition by the CIPM. We also report on the process that led to the participation of the FO2-Rb frequency standard in Circular T and to the elaboration of TAI. This participation enables us to demonstrate absolute frequency measurement directly in terms of the SI second realized by the TAI ensemble with a statistical uncertainty of 1.1 × 10−16, therefore at the limit allowed by the accuracy of PFSs. This work constitutes a demonstration of how other secondary representations, based on optical transitions, could also be used for TAI, and an investigation of a number of issues relevant to a future redefinition of the SI second.
UTC(OP), the French national realization of the international coordinated universal time, was redesigned and rebuilt. The first step was the implementation in October 2012 of a new algorithm based on ...a H-maser and on atomic fountain data. Thanks to the new implementation, the stability of UTC(OP) was dramatically improved and UTC(OP) competes with the best time scales available today. Then the hardware generation and distribution of the UTC(OP) physical signals were replaced. Part of the new hardware is composed of commercial devices, but the key elements were specifically developed. One of them is a special switch that allows the UTC(OP) signals to be derived from one of two time scales, based on two different H-masers, which are generated simultaneously. This insures the continuity of the UTC(OP) signal even when a change of the reference H-maser is required. With the new hardware implementation, UTC(OP) is made available through three coherent signals: 100 MHz, 10 MHz and 1 PPS. For more than 3 years, UTC(OP) remained well below 10 ns close to UTC, with a difference even less than 5 ns if we except a short period around MJD 56650.
We report on the first comparison of distant caesium fountain primary frequency standards (PFSs) via an optical fiber link. The 1415 km long optical link connects two PFSs at LNE-SYRTE (Laboratoire ...National de métrologie et d'Essais-SYstème de Références Temps-Espace) in Paris (France) with two at PTB (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt) in Braunschweig (Germany). For a long time, these PFSs have been major contributors to accuracy of the International Atomic Time (TAI), with stated accuracies of around 3×10−16. They have also been the references for a number of absolute measurements of clock transition frequencies in various optical frequency standards in view of a future redefinition of the second. The phase coherent optical frequency transfer via a stabilized telecom fiber link enables far better resolution than any other means of frequency transfer based on satellite links. The agreement for each pair of distant fountains compared is well within the combined uncertainty of a few 10−16 for all the comparisons, which fully supports the stated PFSs' uncertainties. The comparison also includes a rubidium fountain frequency standard participating in the steering of TAI and enables a new absolute determination of the 87Rb ground state hyperfine transition frequency with an uncertainty of 3.1×10−16. This paper is dedicated to the memory of André Clairon, who passed away on 24 December 2015, for his pioneering and long-lasting efforts in atomic fountains. He also pioneered optical links from as early as 1997.
We have remeasured the absolute 1S-2S transition frequency nu(H) in atomic hydrogen. A comparison with the result of the previous measurement performed in 1999 sets a limit of (-29+/-57) Hz for the ...drift of nu(H) with respect to the ground state hyperfine splitting nu(Cs) in 133Cs. Combining this result with the recently published optical transition frequency in 199Hg+ against nu(Cs) and a microwave 87Rb and 133Cs clock comparison, we deduce separate limits on alpha/alpha=(-0.9+/-2.9) x 10(-15) yr(-1) and the fractional time variation of the ratio of Rb and Cs nuclear magnetic moments mu(Rb)/mu(Cs) equal to (-0.5+/-1.7) x 10(-15) yr(-1). The latter provides information on the temporal behavior of the constant of strong interaction.
Over five years, we have compared the hyperfine frequencies of 133Cs and 87Rb atoms in their electronic ground state using several laser-cooled 133Cs and 87Rb atomic fountains with an accuracy of ...approximately 10(-15). These measurements set a stringent upper bound to a possible fractional time variation of the ratio between the two frequencies: d/dt ln((nu(Rb))/(nu(Cs))=(0.2+/-7.0)x 10(-16) yr(-1) (1sigma uncertainty). The same limit applies to a possible variation of the quantity (mu(Rb)/mu(Cs))alpha(-0.44), which involves the ratio of nuclear magnetic moments and the fine structure constant.
We present a detailed characterization of two atomic clock interrogation systems based on two different cryogenic sapphire oscillators operated simultaneously. We use them as references for two ...accurate fountain clock frequency standards participating in international atomic time and operating both at the quantum projection noise frequency limit. The two fountain comparison down to a few 10 -16 over 28 days demonstrates the potential of a cryocooled oscillator to replace a He-refilled cryogenic oscillator.
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