# Feasibility of the optical fiber clock

## TL;DR

This paper investigates the potential of a compact, high-precision mercury atomic clock using a hollow core optical fiber, analyzing surface interactions, atom stability, and frequency shifts to assess feasibility.

## Contribution

It provides a detailed theoretical analysis of surface-induced frequency shifts and atom stability in a hollow fiber-based atomic clock, demonstrating the possibility of achieving extremely low frequency shifts.

## Key findings

- Frequency shift can be kept at ~10^{-19} level for specific fiber parameters.
- Atom loss and heating effects are estimated and found manageable.
- Feasibility of a compact high-precision Hg atomic clock is supported.

## Abstract

We explore the feasibility of a compact high-precision Hg atomic clock based on a hollow core optical fiber. We evaluate the sensitivity of the $^1S_0$-$^3P_0$ clock transition in Hg and other divalent atoms to the fiber inner core surface at non-zero temperatures. The Casimir-Polder interaction induced $^1S_0$-$^3P_0$ transition frequency shift is calculated for the atom inside the hollow capillary as a function of atomic position, capillary material, and geometric parameters. For $^{199}\mathrm{Hg}$ atoms on the axis of a silica capillary with inner radius $\geq 15 \,\mu \mathrm{m}$ and optimally chosen thickness $d\sim 1 \,\mu \mathrm{m}$, the atom-surface interaction induced $^1S_0$-$^3P_0$ clock transition frequency shift can be kept on the level $\delta\nu/\nu_{\mathrm{Hg}} \sim10^{-19}$. We also estimate the atom loss and heating due to the collisions with the buffer gas, lattice intensity noise induced heating, spontaneous photon scattering, and residual birefringence induced frequency shifts.