(DURIP) ABSOLUTE OPTICAL FREQUENCY REFERENCE FOR QUANTUM SENSING
Abstract
Quantum sensing often converts a signal of interest - such as acceleration, the gravity gradient, or a fundamental physical constant - into a laser frequency measurement, and thus makes the precision of modern atomic clocks available to these measurements. This precision can be translated between microwave and optical frequencies using frequency combs. The combination of such a device and the existing expertise of Berkeley researchers in AMO and related physics will bring Berkeley’s efforts in quantum metrology to the forefront of a rapidly developing field. Therefore, we here propose to acquire an optical frequency comb system and make it available as a shared facility to researchers in the Department of Physics. The comb will be installed in a room (269 Birge Hall) that is already connected by fibers and communication networks to atomic physics labs throughout several of the Department buildings. By addition of a frequency reference controlled by the global positioning system (GPS) that is already available, the facility will be directly traceable to the world’s timing standard, the atomic clocks located at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and other international metrology institutes. A frequency comb will enhance multiple ongoing, DoD-supported research efforts at UC Berkeley, and will enable new studies in areas of interest to the DoD. For example, matter-wave sensors for measuring inertial motion (including airborne sensors and cavity-based interferometers) require stable optical frequencies and would benefit from the comb for characterization of their accuracy and their sensitivity to environmental influences. As another example, a broad spectrum of interferometry techniques as well as high-power laser technologies are being implemented in a new experiment aiming to measure the fine structure constant. A frequency comb will enable a measurement of this constant with unprecedented precision, possibly shining light on deviations from the Standard Model of particle physics or placing bounds on possible mechanisms of dark matter. Many of the methods developed in this context will eventually be used in mobile sensors. The shared comb facility will also be used by the Stamper-Kurn group, which is studying ultracold matter, including the cooling of transition metals, such as titanium, which are theorized to contain extremely narrow transitions, and may thus enable higher performance optical clocks. Making these new elements available for laser cooling can lead to the development of new atomic clocks, which can improve clock networks envisioned in nextgeneration architectures of timekeeping standards and global positioning systems.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 07, 2023
- Source ID
- FA95502210114
Entities
People
- Holger Mueller
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of California Regents