Geodesy and metrology with a transportable optical clock

Autor: Ludger Timmen, Sebastian Häfner, Fred N. Baynes, Christian Lisdat, Christian Voigt, Massimo Zucco, Stefan Vogt, Heiner Denker, Uwe Sterr, Jacopo Grotti, Marco Pizzocaro, Filippo Levi, Helen S. Margolis, Benjamin Rauf, Giovanni Antonio Costanzo, Michel Zampaolo, Davide Calonico, Antoine Rolland, Anna Tampellini, Filippo Bregolin, Piero Barbieri, Cecilia Clivati, Silvio Koller, Pierre Thoumany
Přispěvatelé: Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt [Braunschweig] (PTB), X-ray Science Division (XSD), Leibniz Universität Hannover=Leibniz University Hannover, German Research Centre for Geosciences - Helmholtz-Centre Potsdam (GFZ), National Physical Laboratory [Teddington] (NPL), Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane (LSM - UMR 6417), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019] (UGA [2016-2019]), Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica (INRiM), Leibniz Universität Hannover [Hannover] (LUH), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019] (UGA [2016-2019])-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)
Rok vydání: 2018
Předmět:
Zdroj: Nature Physics
Nature Physics, 2018, 14 (5), pp.437-441. ⟨10.1038/s41567-017-0042-3⟩
Nature Physics, Nature Publishing Group, 2018, 14 (5), pp.437-441. ⟨10.1038/s41567-017-0042-3⟩
ISSN: 1745-2473
1476-4636
DOI: 10.1038/s41567-017-0042-3⟩
Popis: The advent of novel measurement instrumentation can lead to paradigm shifts in scientific research. Optical atomic clocks, due to their unprecedented stability and uncertainty, are already being used to test physical theories and herald a revision of the International System of units (SI). However, to unlock their potential for cross-disciplinary applications such as relativistic geodesy, a major challenge remains. This is their transformation from highly specialized instruments restricted to national metrology laboratories into flexible devices deployable in different locations. Here we report the first field measurement campaign performed with a ubiquitously applicable $^{87}$Sr optical lattice clock. We use it to determine the gravity potential difference between the middle of a mountain and a location 90 km apart, exploiting both local and remote clock comparisons to eliminate potential clock errors. A local comparison with a $^{171}$Yb lattice clock 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.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz: