Experimental Evaluation of the Blackbody Radiation Shift in the Cesium Atomic Fountain Clock

Abstract

The cesium atomic fountain clock is the world’s most accurate microwave atomic clock. The uncertainty of blackbody radiation (BBR) shift accounts for an increasingly large percentage of the uncertainty associated with fountain clocks and has become a key factor in the performance of fountain clocks. The uncertainty of BBR shift can be reduced by improving the system environment temperature. This study examined the mechanism by which the BBR shift of the transition frequency between the two hyperfine energy levels of the 133Cs ground state is generated and the calculation method for the BBR shift in the atomic fountain. Methods used to reduce the uncertainty of BBR shift were also examined. A fountain system structure with uniform temperature and good heat preservation was designed, and related technologies, such as that for measuring the temperature of the cesium fountain system, were studied. The results of 20 days of measurements, in combination with computer simulation results, showed that the temperature uncertainty of the atomic action zone is 0.12 °C and that the resulting uncertainty of BBR shift is 2.4 × 10−17.

Keywords

• cesium atomic fountain clock
• blackbody radiation shift
• atomic flight zone