High-accuracy optical clock based on the octupole transition in 171Yb+

Area of Science:

• Atomic Physics
• Quantum Metrology
• Spectroscopy

Background:

• Optical frequency standards are crucial for precision measurements.
• Trapped ions offer excellent isolation for high-fidelity atomic transitions.
• The electric-octupole transition in Ytterbium ions presents unique properties for frequency stabilization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally realize and characterize an optical frequency standard.
• To investigate the 467 nm electric-octupole transition in a single trapped (171)Yb(+) ion.
• To achieve ultra-high precision in frequency measurement by mitigating systematic shifts.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a single trapped (171)Yb(+) ion.
• Employing laser cooling and trapping techniques.
• Implementing a real-time extrapolation scheme to eliminate ac Stark shifts.
• Measuring the electric-quadrupole moment and polarizability components.

Main Results:

• The electric-quadrupole moment of the (2)F(7/2) state was measured as -0.041(5)ea(0)(2).
• Differential scalar and tensorial polarizability components were determined.
• The unperturbed transition frequency was realized with a fractional uncertainty of 7.1×10(-17).
• The transition frequency was measured to be 642 121 496 772 645.15(52) Hz.

Conclusions:

• The study demonstrates a robust optical frequency standard based on the Yb(+) electric-octupole transition.
• The achieved uncertainty level is competitive with state-of-the-art atomic clocks.
• This work contributes to the advancement of precision spectroscopy and fundamental constant measurements.