First GNSS-deployed optical clock for local time scale upgrade

Abstract

Precise time scale is the universal base for all measurements. Here we report the deployment of a compact and transportable optical clock to a timekeeping institution and steering an active hydrogen maser to generate an optical time scale, realizing the upgrade of the local time scale in the Global Navigation Satellite System. The optical clock was transported over 1200 km by express delivery and resume work as normal promptly, and its extremely high uptime of 93.6% in the half-year enabled us to precisely correct the frequency drift of hydrogen maser, ultimately achieving an unprecedented monthly instability of 4E-17. This steering experiment with a deployable optical clock marks a significant advancement, demonstrating that a timing accuracy below 100 ps per month can be achieved feasibly in various timekeeping institutions where hydrogen masers are typically employed as the primary contributor to timekeeping. In the future, mobile optical time scale based on such transportable optical clock can be deployed flexibly and rapidly, which is particularly important in scenarios lacking International Atomic Time reference.