Black Body Radiation Shift of the 133Cs Hyperfine Transition Frequency

Abstract

We report the theoretical evaluations of the static scalar polarizability of the 133Cs ground state and of the black body radiation shift induced on the transition frequency between the two hyperfine levels with m_F = 0. This shift is of fundamental importance in the evaluation of the accuracy of the primary frequency standards based on atomic fountains and employed in the realization of the SI second in the International Atomic Time (TAI) scale at the level of 1e-15. Our computed value for the polarizability is alpha_0=6.600(16)e-39 Cm^2/V in agreement at the level of 1e-3 with recent theoretical and experimental values. As regards the black body radiation shift we .nd for the relative hyper.ne transition frequency beta=-1.49 (7)e-14 at T = 300 K in agreement with frequency measurements reported by our group and by Bauch and Schroder [Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 622, (1997)]. This value is lower by 2e-15 than that obtained with measurements based on the dc Stark shift and than the value commonly accepted up to now.