A multi-ion optical clock with $\mathbf{5 \times 10^{-19}}$ uncertainty
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arXiv
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| _version_ | 1866917360111190016 |
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| author | Filzinger, Melina Steinel, Martin R. Jiang, Jian Bennett, Daniel Mehlstäubler, Tanja E. Peik, Ekkehard Huntemann, Nils |
| author_facet | Filzinger, Melina Steinel, Martin R. Jiang, Jian Bennett, Daniel Mehlstäubler, Tanja E. Peik, Ekkehard Huntemann, Nils |
| contents | Today's most accurate clocks are based on laser spectroscopy of electronic transitions in single trapped ions and feature fractional frequency uncertainties below $1\times10^{-18}$. Scaling these systems to multiple, simultaneously interrogated ions reduces measurement times, driving recent advances in multi-ion clocks. However, maintaining state-of-the-art systematic uncertainties while increasing the number of ions remains a central challenge. Here, we report on a multi-ion optical atomic clock with a fractional frequency uncertainty of $5.3\times10^{-19}$ and up to 10 \Sr ions. Ion-resolved state detection enables minimization of position-dependent shifts, with residual effects suppressed below the $10^{-20}$-level. Clock operation with eight to ten ions reduces the measurement time by a factor of 4.8 compared to single-ion operation. A comparison with an established \Yb single-ion clock yields an unperturbed frequency ratio of $0.6926711632159660405(20)$, with a statistical uncertainty of $0.9\times10^{-18}$ and a combined uncertainty of $2.9\times 10^{-18}$. These results demonstrate robust multi-ion clock operation with reduced averaging time and state-of-the-art accuracy. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_23446 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | A multi-ion optical clock with $\mathbf{5 \times 10^{-19}}$ uncertainty Filzinger, Melina Steinel, Martin R. Jiang, Jian Bennett, Daniel Mehlstäubler, Tanja E. Peik, Ekkehard Huntemann, Nils Atomic Physics Quantum Physics Today's most accurate clocks are based on laser spectroscopy of electronic transitions in single trapped ions and feature fractional frequency uncertainties below $1\times10^{-18}$. Scaling these systems to multiple, simultaneously interrogated ions reduces measurement times, driving recent advances in multi-ion clocks. However, maintaining state-of-the-art systematic uncertainties while increasing the number of ions remains a central challenge. Here, we report on a multi-ion optical atomic clock with a fractional frequency uncertainty of $5.3\times10^{-19}$ and up to 10 \Sr ions. Ion-resolved state detection enables minimization of position-dependent shifts, with residual effects suppressed below the $10^{-20}$-level. Clock operation with eight to ten ions reduces the measurement time by a factor of 4.8 compared to single-ion operation. A comparison with an established \Yb single-ion clock yields an unperturbed frequency ratio of $0.6926711632159660405(20)$, with a statistical uncertainty of $0.9\times10^{-18}$ and a combined uncertainty of $2.9\times 10^{-18}$. These results demonstrate robust multi-ion clock operation with reduced averaging time and state-of-the-art accuracy. |
| title | A multi-ion optical clock with $\mathbf{5 \times 10^{-19}}$ uncertainty |
| topic | Atomic Physics Quantum Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.23446 |