An Optical Lattice Clock with Accuracy and Stability at the $10^{-18}$ Level

TL;DR

This paper reports the first demonstration of a many-atom optical lattice clock surpassing single-ion clocks in accuracy, stability, and reproducibility, significantly advancing quantum metrology and precision measurement.

Contribution

It introduces a many-atom lattice clock with accuracy better than single-ion clocks, achieving all key standards for a primary frequency standard.

Findings

Achieved 6x10^{-18} accuracy in a many-atom lattice clock.

Reduced averaging time to 3000 seconds.

Demonstrated superior stability and reproducibility.

Abstract

The exquisite control exhibited over quantum states of individual particles has revolutionized the field of precision measurement, as exemplified by the most accurate atomic clock realized in single trapped ions. Whereas many-atom lattice clocks have shown advantages in measurement precision over trapped-ion clocks, their accuracy has remained 20 times worse. Here we demonstrate, for the first time, that a many-atom system achieves accuracy (6x10^{-18}) better than a single ion-based clock, with vastly reduced averaging times (3000 s). This is the first time a single clock has achieved the best performance in all three key ingredients necessary for consideration as a primary standard - stability, reproducibility, and accuracy. This work paves the way for future experiments to integrate many-body quantum state engineering into the frontiers of quantum metrology, creating exciting opportunities to advance precision beyond the standard quantum limit. Improved frequency standards will have impact to a wide range of fields from the realization of the SI units, the development of quantum sensors, to precision tests of the fundamental laws of nature.