Geodesy and metrology with a transportable optical clock

authored by: Jacopo Grotti, Silvio Koller, Stefan Vogt, Sebastian Häfner, Uwe Sterr, Christian Lisdat, Heiner Denker, Christian Voigt, Ludger Timmen, Antoine Rolland, Fred N. Baynes, Helen S. Margolis, Michel Zampaolo, Pierre Thoumany, Marco Pizzocaro, Benjamin Rauf, Filippo Bregolin, Anna Tampellini, Piero Barbieri, Massimo Zucco, Giovanni A. Costanzo, Cecilia Clivati, Filippo Levi, Davide Calonico
Abstract: Optical atomic clocks, due to their unprecedented stability ^1-3 and uncertainty ^3-6 , are already being used to test physical theories ^7,8 and herald a revision of the International System of Units ^9,10 . However, to unlock their potential for cross-disciplinary applications such as relativistic geodesy ¹¹ , a major challenge remains: their transformation from highly specialized instruments restricted to national metrology laboratories into flexible devices deployable in different locations ^12-14 . Here, we report the first field measurement campaign with a transportable ⁸⁷ Sr optical lattice clock ¹² . We use it to determine the gravity potential difference between the middle of a mountain and a location 90 km away, exploiting both local and remote clock comparisons to eliminate potential clock errors. A local comparison with a ¹⁷¹ Yb lattice clock ¹⁵ also serves as an important check on the international consistency of independently developed optical clocks. This campaign demonstrates the exciting prospects for transportable optical clocks.
Organisation(s): Institute of Geodesy
External Organisation(s): Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt PTB
Helmholtz Centre Potsdam - German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ)
National Physical Laboratory (NPL)
Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica (INRiM)
Politecnico di Torino (POLITO)
Modane Underground Laboratory
Type: Article
Journal: Nature physics
Volume: 14
Pages: 437-441
No. of pages: 5
ISSN: 1745-2473
Publication date: 05.2018
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: General Physics and Astronomy
Electronic version(s): http://10.48550/arXiv.1705.04089 (Access: Open)
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-017-0042-3 (Access: Closed)
http://porto.polito.it/2699696/ (Access: Open)
: Details in the research portal "Research@Leibniz University"

BibTeX

@article{c49e0bc25a6441a28dc6f4cafe10afd7,
title = "Geodesy and metrology with a transportable optical clock",
abstract = " Optical atomic clocks, due to their unprecedented stability 1-3 and uncertainty 3-6 , are already being used to test physical theories 7,8 and herald a revision of the International System of Units 9,10 . However, to unlock their potential for cross-disciplinary applications such as relativistic geodesy 11 , a major challenge remains: their transformation from highly specialized instruments restricted to national metrology laboratories into flexible devices deployable in different locations 12-14 . Here, we report the first field measurement campaign with a transportable 87 Sr optical lattice clock 12 . We use it to determine the gravity potential difference between the middle of a mountain and a location 90 km away, exploiting both local and remote clock comparisons to eliminate potential clock errors. A local comparison with a 171 Yb lattice clock 15 also serves as an important check on the international consistency of independently developed optical clocks. This campaign demonstrates the exciting prospects for transportable optical clocks. ",
author = "Jacopo Grotti and Silvio Koller and Stefan Vogt and Sebastian H{\"a}fner and Uwe Sterr and Christian Lisdat and Heiner Denker and Christian Voigt and Ludger Timmen and Antoine Rolland and Baynes, {Fred N.} and Margolis, {Helen S.} and Michel Zampaolo and Pierre Thoumany and Marco Pizzocaro and Benjamin Rauf and Filippo Bregolin and Anna Tampellini and Piero Barbieri and Massimo Zucco and Costanzo, {Giovanni A.} and Cecilia Clivati and Filippo Levi and Davide Calonico",
note = "Funding Information: We would like to thank T. Zampieri for his technical support at LSM and A. Mura and Consorzio TOP-IX for technical help in the access to the optical fibre. The authors acknowledge funding from European Metrology Research Program (EMRP) Project SIB55 ITOC, the EU Innovative Training Network (ITN) Future Atomic Clock Technology (FACT), the DFG funded CRC 1128 geo-Q (Projects A03 and C04) and RTG 1728 and the UK National Measurement System Quantum, Electromagnetics and Time Programme. The EMRP is jointly funded by the EMRP participating countries within EURAMET and the European Union.",
year = "2018",
month = may,
doi = "10.1038/s41567-017-0042-3",
language = "English",
volume = "14",
pages = "437--441",
journal = "Nature physics",
issn = "1745-2473",
publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",
number = "5",
}