A Kalman Filter for Atomic Clocks and Timescales

Abstract

In a test of whether a Kalman filter could provide viable frequencies for atomic clocks, as well phases for a mean timescale, both simulated and actual hydrogen maser frequency data were processed with a two-state Kalman filter involving the parameters frequency and frequency drift and incorporating noise measurements based on Hadamard variances. Separate clock solutions were then combined and integrated to generate a mean timescale for the ensemble. Results for sampling times of up to at least several days indicate that such a timescale is even more stable than the one being used to steer the USNO Master Clock.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2002
Accession Number
ADA485679

Entities

People

  • Lee A. Breakiron

Organizations

  • United States Naval Observatory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Algorithms
  • Anomaly Detection
  • Atomic Beam Masers
  • Atomic Clocks
  • Clocks
  • Equations
  • Equations Of State
  • Filters
  • Frequency
  • Instrumentation
  • Kalman Filters
  • Measurement
  • Measuring Instruments
  • Phase Measurement
  • Random Walk
  • Statistical Algorithms
  • Time Intervals

Readers

  • Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Technology.
  • Radio communications and signal processing.