Influence of Laser Noise on the Optically Pumped, Atomic-Beam Clock; Conference paper

摘要

The optically pumped atomic-beam clock offers the potential for orders-of-magnitude improvement over conventional beam clocks. In part, this improvement stems from the use of diode lasers to efficiently prepare the atoms prior to entering the Ramsey cavity region and then to efficiently probe the atoms after they have passed through the cavity. However, while the diode lasers typically used in these beam clocks are single-in ode devices, the quantum-noise associated with the single-in ode is often non-negligible. Here, we describe our efforts to construct a realistic computer model of the clock, taking into account the multilevel nature of the atom along with the pump and probe lasers' amplitude and frequency fluctuations. Our goal is to develop a numerical means for generating the clock signal's time series, and in this way to isolate those laser-related processes that may play an important role in the clock's performance.