Cavity-enhanced non-destructive detection of atoms for an optical lattice clock

TL;DR

This paper introduces a cavity-enhanced, non-destructive atom detection method for strontium optical lattice clocks, achieving high precision and minimal atomic perturbation, advancing the development of ultra-stable, quantum-enhanced clocks.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel cavity-enhanced detection scheme that is linear, noise-resistant, and minimally perturbative, improving atomic state measurement for optical lattice clocks.

Findings

Detection linear up to 10,000 atoms

Achieves near photon shot noise limit

Provides uniform atom-cavity coupling

Abstract

We demonstrate a new method of cavity-enhanced non-destructive detection of atoms for a strontium optical lattice clock. The detection scheme is shown to be linear in atom number up to at least 10,000 atoms, to reject technical noise sources, to achieve signal to noise ratio close to the photon shot noise limit, to provide spatially uniform atom-cavity coupling, and to minimize inhomogeneous ac Stark shifts. These features enable detection of atoms with minimal perturbation to the atomic state, a critical step towards realizing an ultra-high-stability, quantum-enhanced optical lattice clock.