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Center for Nonlinear Studies |
Optical atomic clocks promise unmatched oscillator stability and ultimate fractional frequency uncertainty in the 1e-17 regime and beyond. Applications of these frequency references range from the generation of low-phase-noise microwaves to tests of fundamental physics. A clock based on an optical lattice of ultracold fermionic ytterbium atoms has been limited by uncertainties due to room-temperature blackbody radiation and atomic density-dependent shifts. We report two precision measurements that substantially reduce these uncertainties: a ~20 ppm measurement of atomic polarizability, and characterization of p-wave dominated cold-collisions.
Host: Malcolm Boshier, 665-8892