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Characterization of the collisional frequency shift in an atomic fountain clock using absorption imaging

From National Research Council Canada

DOIResolve DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1681-7575/acda32
AuthorSearch for: 1ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2056-2871; Search for: 1ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4588-3957
Affiliation
  1. National Research Council of Canada. Metrology Research Centre
FormatText, Article
Subjectatomic clock; primary frequency standard; atomic collisions
Abstract
The collisional frequency shift is a dominant contribution to the uncertainty of many caesium fountain clocks. Minimizing the effect can be difficult, as lowering the atomic density comes at the cost of a reduced signal-to-noise ratio. Also, it is typically not atomic density, but total atom number that is measured in the experiment, which can lead to a potential measurement bias. In this paper, we describe a direct measurement of the atomic density using absorption imaging of the atomic cloud. For the caesium fountain clock, NRC-FCs2, at the National Research Council Canada, these measurements have led to a reduction in the uncertainty due to the collisional shift by a factor of 10.
Publication date
PublisherIOP
In
  • Metrologia 60, no. 4, 045004 (13 June 2023).
LanguageEnglish
Peer reviewedYes
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Record identifier99d6a703-98ae-4eff-bdfe-24919c2808e8
Record created2024-07-08
Record modified2024-07-08
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