Active optical frequency standard using sequential coupling of atomic ensembles

TL;DR

This paper proposes a method to maintain phase coherence in an active optical frequency standard by sequentially coupling multiple atomic ensembles, using simulations to analyze the emission process and frequency noise.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach of using sequential atomic ensembles to preserve phase coherence in active optical standards, enhancing stability over existing methods.

Findings

Simulated the emission process using the Heisenberg-Langevin approach.

Analyzed the frequency noise of the intracavity field.

Demonstrated potential for improved phase coherence in active standards.

Abstract

Recently, several theoretical proposals adressed the generation of an active optical frequency standard based on atomic ensembles trapped in an optical lattice potential inside an optical resonator. Using atoms with a narrow linewidth transition and population inversion together with a "bad" cavity allows to the realize the superradiant photon emission regime. These schemes reduce the influence of mechanical or thermal vibrations of the cavity mirrors on the emitted optical frequency, overcoming current limitation in passive optical standards. The coherence time of the emitted light is ultimately limited by the lifetime of the atoms in the optical lattice potential. Therefore these schemes would produce one light pulse per atomic ensemble without a phase relation between pulses. Here we study how phase coherence between pulses can be maintained by using several inverted atomic ensenbles, introduced into the cavity sequentially by means of a transport mechanism. We simulate the light emission process using the Heisenberg-Langevin approach and study the frequency noise of the intracavity field.