Institution: | BNM—Laboratoire Primaire du Temps et des Fréquences, 61, av. de l'Observatoire, 75014, Paris, France Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, 24, rue Lhomond, 75231, Paris, France Laboratoire de l'Horloge Atomique, Bat.221, Université Paris-Sud, 91405, Orsay, France Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, 18, av. Edouard Belin, 31055, Toulouse, France |
Abstract: | For several years, the “BNM-Laboratoire Primaire du Temps et des Fréquences” has worked on a cold atom frequency standard. With a cesium atomic fountain a resonance line width of 700 mHz has been obtained leading to a short-term stability of 2 × 10−13 τ−1/2 down to 2 × 10−15 at 104 s. A first evaluation of the fountain accuracy has been performed resulting in an accuracy of 3 × 10−15, three times better than previously achieved with thermal beams frequency standards. In the atomic fountain, gravity limits the interaction time to ˜1 s, hence the resonance line width to ˜0.5 Hz. A factor of 10 reduction in the line width could be obtained in a micro-gravity environment. The “Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales” (the French space agency), the “BNM-Laboratoire Primaire du Temps et des Fréquences”, the “Laboratoire de l'Horloge Atomique” and the “Laboratoire Kastler Brossel” have set up a collaboration to investigate a space frequency standard using cold atoms: the PHARAO project. A microgravity prototype has been constructed and operated first in the reduced gravity of aircraft parabolic flights in May 1997. It is designed as a transportable frequency standard. The PHARAO frequency standard could be a key element in future space missions in fundamental physics such as SORT (solar orbit relativity test), detection of gravitational waves, or for the realization of a global time scale and a new generation of positioning system. |