Controlling systematic frequency uncertainties at the $10^{-19}$ level in linear Coulomb crystals

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates control over systematic frequency uncertainties below 10^{-19} in linear Coulomb crystals, enabling high-precision spectroscopy with multiple ions and paving the way for advanced clock schemes.

Contribution

It introduces a new rf trap array for ion chains and shows systematic uncertainties can be maintained below 10^{-19} in multi-ion systems.

Findings

Systematic uncertainties below 10^{-19} achieved in multi-ion chains.

New rf trap array enables precise control of ion ensembles.

Results support development of entangled and cascaded clock schemes.

Abstract

Trapped ions are ideally suited for precision spectroscopy, as is evident from the remarkably low systematic uncertainties of single-ion clocks. The major weakness of these clocks is the long averaging time, necessitated by the low signal of a single atom. An increased number of ions can overcome this limitation and allow for the implementation of novel clock schemes. However, this presents the challenge to maintain the excellent control over systematic shifts of a single particle in spatially extended and strongly coupled many-body systems. We measure and deduce systematic frequency uncertainties related to spectroscopy with ion chains in a newly developed rf trap array designed for precision spectroscopy on simultaneously trapped ion ensembles. For the example of an In${}^+$ clock, sympathetically cooled with Yb${}^+$ ions, we show in our system that the expected systematic frequency uncertainties related to multi-ion operation can be below $1\times10^{-19}$. Our results pave the way to advanced spectroscopy schemes such as entangled clock spectroscopy and cascaded clock operation.