Abstract
The passage of time is tracked by counting oscillations of a frequency reference, such as Earth’s revolutions or swings of a pendulum. By referencing atomic transitions, frequency (and thus time) can be measured more precisely than any other physical quantity, with the current generation of optical atomic clocks reporting fractional performance below the 10 −17 level 1–5 . However, the theory of relativity prescribes that the passage of time is not absolute, but is affected by an observer’s reference frame. Consequently, clock measurements exhibit sensitivity to relative velocity, acceleration and gravity potential. Here we demonstrate local optical clock measurements that surpass the current ability to account for the gravitational distortion of space-time across the surface of Earth. In two independent ytterbium optical lattice clocks, we demonstrate unprecedented values of three fundamental benchmarks of clock performance. In units of the clock frequency, we report systematic uncertainty of 1.4 × 10 −18 , measurement instability of 3.2 × 10 −19 and reproducibility characterized by ten blinded frequency comparisons, yielding a frequency difference of [−7 ± (5) stat ± (8) sys ] × 10 −19 , where ‘stat’ and ‘sys’ indicate statistical and systematic uncertainty, respectively. Although sensitivity to differences in gravity potential could degrade the performance of the clocks as terrestrial standards of time, this same sensitivity can be used as a very sensitive probe of geopotential 5–9 . Near the surface of Earth, clock comparisons at the 1 × 10 −18 level provide a resolution of one centimetre along the direction of gravity, so the performance of these clocks should enable geodesy beyond the state-of-the-art level. These optical clocks could further be used to explore geophysical phenomena 10 , detect gravitational waves 11 , test general relativity 12 and search for dark matter 13–17 .
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 87-90 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Nature |
| Volume | 564 |
| Issue number | 7734 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2018 Dec 6 |
Fingerprint
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General
Cite this
Atomic clock performance enabling geodesy below the centimetre level. / McGrew, W. F.; Zhang, X.; Fasano, R. J.; Schäffer, S. A.; Beloy, K.; Nicolodi, D.; Brown, R. C.; Hinkley, N.; Milani, G.; Schioppo, M.; Yoon, Tai Hyun; Ludlow, A. D.
In: Nature, Vol. 564, No. 7734, 06.12.2018, p. 87-90.Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Atomic clock performance enabling geodesy below the centimetre level
AU - McGrew, W. F.
AU - Zhang, X.
AU - Fasano, R. J.
AU - Schäffer, S. A.
AU - Beloy, K.
AU - Nicolodi, D.
AU - Brown, R. C.
AU - Hinkley, N.
AU - Milani, G.
AU - Schioppo, M.
AU - Yoon, Tai Hyun
AU - Ludlow, A. D.
PY - 2018/12/6
Y1 - 2018/12/6
N2 - The passage of time is tracked by counting oscillations of a frequency reference, such as Earth’s revolutions or swings of a pendulum. By referencing atomic transitions, frequency (and thus time) can be measured more precisely than any other physical quantity, with the current generation of optical atomic clocks reporting fractional performance below the 10 −17 level 1–5 . However, the theory of relativity prescribes that the passage of time is not absolute, but is affected by an observer’s reference frame. Consequently, clock measurements exhibit sensitivity to relative velocity, acceleration and gravity potential. Here we demonstrate local optical clock measurements that surpass the current ability to account for the gravitational distortion of space-time across the surface of Earth. In two independent ytterbium optical lattice clocks, we demonstrate unprecedented values of three fundamental benchmarks of clock performance. In units of the clock frequency, we report systematic uncertainty of 1.4 × 10 −18 , measurement instability of 3.2 × 10 −19 and reproducibility characterized by ten blinded frequency comparisons, yielding a frequency difference of [−7 ± (5) stat ± (8) sys ] × 10 −19 , where ‘stat’ and ‘sys’ indicate statistical and systematic uncertainty, respectively. Although sensitivity to differences in gravity potential could degrade the performance of the clocks as terrestrial standards of time, this same sensitivity can be used as a very sensitive probe of geopotential 5–9 . Near the surface of Earth, clock comparisons at the 1 × 10 −18 level provide a resolution of one centimetre along the direction of gravity, so the performance of these clocks should enable geodesy beyond the state-of-the-art level. These optical clocks could further be used to explore geophysical phenomena 10 , detect gravitational waves 11 , test general relativity 12 and search for dark matter 13–17 .
AB - The passage of time is tracked by counting oscillations of a frequency reference, such as Earth’s revolutions or swings of a pendulum. By referencing atomic transitions, frequency (and thus time) can be measured more precisely than any other physical quantity, with the current generation of optical atomic clocks reporting fractional performance below the 10 −17 level 1–5 . However, the theory of relativity prescribes that the passage of time is not absolute, but is affected by an observer’s reference frame. Consequently, clock measurements exhibit sensitivity to relative velocity, acceleration and gravity potential. Here we demonstrate local optical clock measurements that surpass the current ability to account for the gravitational distortion of space-time across the surface of Earth. In two independent ytterbium optical lattice clocks, we demonstrate unprecedented values of three fundamental benchmarks of clock performance. In units of the clock frequency, we report systematic uncertainty of 1.4 × 10 −18 , measurement instability of 3.2 × 10 −19 and reproducibility characterized by ten blinded frequency comparisons, yielding a frequency difference of [−7 ± (5) stat ± (8) sys ] × 10 −19 , where ‘stat’ and ‘sys’ indicate statistical and systematic uncertainty, respectively. Although sensitivity to differences in gravity potential could degrade the performance of the clocks as terrestrial standards of time, this same sensitivity can be used as a very sensitive probe of geopotential 5–9 . Near the surface of Earth, clock comparisons at the 1 × 10 −18 level provide a resolution of one centimetre along the direction of gravity, so the performance of these clocks should enable geodesy beyond the state-of-the-art level. These optical clocks could further be used to explore geophysical phenomena 10 , detect gravitational waves 11 , test general relativity 12 and search for dark matter 13–17 .
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85057727026&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85057727026&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41586-018-0738-2
DO - 10.1038/s41586-018-0738-2
M3 - Letter
VL - 564
SP - 87
EP - 90
JO - Nature Cell Biology
JF - Nature Cell Biology
SN - 1465-7392
IS - 7734
ER -