Analysis of Atom-Interferometer Clocks

Abstract

We analyze the nature and performance of clocks formed by stabilizing an oscillator to the phase difference between two paths of an atom interferometer. The phase evolution has been modeled as being driven by the proper-time difference between the two paths, although it has an ambiguous origin in the nonrelativistic limit and it requires a full quantum-field-theory treatment in the general case. We present conditions for identifying deviations from the nonrelativistic limit as a way of testing the proper-time-driven phase evolution model. We show that the system performance belies the premise that an atom-interferometer clock is referenced to a divided-down Compton oscillation, and we suggest that this implies there is no physical oscillation at the Compton frequency.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 21, 2014
Accession Number
ADA593168

Entities

People

  • Christopher R. Ekstrom
  • Steven Peil

Organizations

  • United States Naval Observatory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Atomic Clocks
  • Beam Splitting
  • Clocks
  • Energy
  • Frequency
  • Interferometers
  • Kinetic Energy
  • Local Oscillators
  • Measurement
  • New York
  • Oscillation
  • Oscillators
  • Path Integrals
  • Quantum Field Theory
  • Quantum Mechanics
  • Standards
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Circadian Sleep-Wake Regulation and Chronobiology
  • Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Technology.
  • Theoretical Analysis.

Technology Areas

  • Quantum Computing