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F. Levi

Publications and source records attributed to F. Levi.

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Measurement and control of the interaction frequency shift in bosonic optical lattice clocks

We report precise measurements of inter-level interactions in a bosonic optical lattice clock based on $^{88}$Sr atoms. We observe a nonlinear density dependence of the clock shift, even without reaching quantum degeneracy. In a 2D lattice, the Rabi line shape exhibits an interaction sideband consistent with a collective spin model, while in a 1D lattice the shift is modified by density-induced dephasing. These findings, combined with a careful choice of interrogation detuning and atomic density, can enable operation at a net-zero systematic density shift in $^{88}$Sr lattice clocks. We discuss the implications of these findings in many-body physics, quantum simulation, and precision isotope shift measurements, which provide a powerful probe for new physics beyond the Standard Model.

physics.atom-ph

Multi-Machine Scaling Laws for Fuel and Impurity Puffing Rates Sufficient for Detachment Access: a Systematic Review of Magnetic Confinement Fusion Devices

An open-source database of 457 experimental and numerical entries representing 32 machines$-$including tokamaks, stellarators, and linear plasma devices$-$is assembled. From this dataset, we derive multi-machine scaling laws that predict the fuel and impurity puffing rates sufficient to edge plasma detachment$-$the leading reactor-relevant solution to the challenge of plasma-wall interaction. Validation against up to 40 L- and H-mode plasmas shows agreement within a factor of 1.5 in about 50\% of cases, and within a factor of 2 on average. Divertor volume alone is found to strongly correlate with the fuelling rate. Inclusion of plasma opaqueness leads to $\Gamma_{\text{D}} \propto [n_{\text{sep}}\, a\, (S_{\text{div}}/V_{\text{div}})^{-1.5}]^{1.05}$, valid across all toroidal devices. Its H-mode simplification, $\Gamma_{\text{D}}^{\text{HDL}} \propto 0.43\, a^{1.58}\, \lambda_q^{-0.89}$, avoids explicit dependence on $n_{\text{sep}}$ and carries intrinsic physical meaning through the H/L density limit and the power fall-off length. The impurity seeding rate is captured by a general non-linear law, from which the Greenwald-Eich-Scarabosio simplification, $\Gamma_{\text{Z}}^{\text{GES}} \propto a^{1.51}\, \lambda_q^{-0.27}$, is obtained. Similar relationships are defined for stellarators, consistent with tokamak trends but still awaiting validation$-$an opportunity for further study. These results have immediate relevance for reactor fuel-cycle design and edge plasma modelling. More broadly, they demonstrate that physics-based 0D laws can reliably link detachment access to engineering actuators, offering practical tools for reactor design. Our laws represent macroscopic patterns across machines rather than microscopic variations within an individual device$-$providing the basis for our forthcoming studies aimed at extending this framework to machine-specific behaviour.

physics.plasm-ph

Roadmap towards the redefinition of the second

This paper outlines the roadmap towards the redefinition of the second, which was recently updated by the CCTF Task Force created by the CCTF in 2020. The main achievements and the open challenges related to the status of the optical frequency standards, their contribution to time scales and UTC, the possibility of their comparison and the knowledge of the Earth's gravitational potential at the necessary level of uncertainty are discussed. In addition, the mandatory criteria to be achieved before redefinition and their current fulfilment level, together with the redefinition options based on a single or on a set of transitions are described.

physics.atom-ph

Direct comparisons of European primary and secondary frequency standards via satellite techniques

We carried out a 26-day comparison of five simultaneously operated optical clocks and six atomic fountain clocks located at INRIM, LNE-SYRTE, NPL and PTB by using two satellite-based frequency comparison techniques: broadband Two-Way Satellite Time and Frequency Transfer (TWSTFT) and Global Positioning System Precise Point Positioning (GPS PPP). With an enhanced statistical analysis procedure taking into account correlations and gaps in the measurement data, combined overall uncertainties in the range of $1.8 \times 10^{-16}$ to $3.5 \times 10^{-16}$ for the optical clock comparisons were found. The comparison of the fountain clocks yields results with a maximum relative frequency difference of $6.9 \times 10^{-16}$, and combined overall uncertainties in the range of $4.8 \times 10^{-16}$ to $7.7 \times 10^{-16}$.

physics.ins-det

Measuring molecular frequencies in the 1--10 {\mu}m range at 11-digits accuracy

Mid infrared (MIR) photonics is a key region for molecular physics [1]. High-resolution spectroscopy in the 1--10 {\mu}m region, though, has never been fully tackled for the lack of widely-tunable and practical light sources. Indeed, all solutions proposed thus far suffer from at least one of three issues: they are feasible only in a narrow spectral range; the power available for spectroscopy is limited; the frequency accuracy is poor. Here, we present a setup for high-resolution spectroscopy that can be applied in the whole 1--10 {\mu}m range by combining the power of quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) and the accuracy achievable by difference frequency generation using an OP-GaP crystal. The frequency is measured against a primary frequency standard using the Italian metrological fibre link network. We demonstrate the performance of the setup by measuring a vibrational transition in a highly-excited metastable state of CO around 6 {\mu}m with 11 digits of precision, four orders of magnitude better than the value available in the literature [2].

physics.atom-ph

Synthetic dimensions and spin-orbit coupling with an optical clock transition

We demonstrate a novel way of synthesizing spin-orbit interactions in ultracold quantum gases, based on a single-photon optical clock transition coupling two long-lived electronic states of two-electron $^{173}$Yb atoms. By mapping the electronic states onto effective sites along a synthetic "electronic" dimension, we have engineered synthetic fermionic ladders with tunable magnetic fluxes. We have detected the spin-orbit coupling with fiber-link-enhanced clock spectroscopy and directly measured the emergence of chiral edge currents, probing them as a function of the magnetic field flux. These results open new directions for the investigation of topological states of matter with ultracold atomic gases.

cond-mat.quant-gas

Measuring absolute frequencies beyond the GPS limit via long-haul optical frequency dissemination

Global Positioning System (GPS) dissemination of frequency standards is ubiquitous at present, providing the most widespread time and frequency reference for the majority of industrial and research applications worldwide. On the other hand, the ultimate limits of the GPS presently curb further advances in high-precision, scientific and industrial applications relying on this dissemination scheme. Here, we demonstrate that these limits can be reliably overcome even in laboratories without a local atomic clock by replacing the GPS with a 642-km-long optical fiber link to a remote primary caesium frequency standard. Through this configuration we stably address the $^1$S$_0$---$^3$P$_0$ clock transition in an ultracold gas of $^{173}$Yb, with a precision that exceeds the possibilities of a GPS-based measurement, dismissing the need for a local clock infrastructure to perform high-precision tasks beyond GPS limit. We also report an improvement of two orders of magnitude in the accuracy on the transition frequency reported in literature.

physics.optics

Beyond the fundamental noise limit in coherent optical fiber links

It is well known that temperature variations and acoustic noise affect ultrastable frequency dissemination along optical fiber. Active stabilization techniques are in general adopted to compensate for the fiber-induced phase noise. However, despite this compensation, the ultimate link performances remain limited by the so called delay-unsuppressed fiber noise that is related to the propagation delay of the light in the fiber. In this paper, we demonstrate a data post-processing approach which enables us to overcome this limit. We implement a subtraction algorithm between the optical signal delivered at the remote link end and the round-trip signal. In this way, a 6 dB improvement beyond the fundamental limit imposed by delay-unsuppressed noise is obtained. This result enhances the resolution of possible comparisons between remote optical clocks by a factor of 2. We confirm the theoretical prediction with experimental data obtained on a 47 km metropolitan fiber link, and propose how to extend this method for frequency dissemination purposes as well.

physics.optics

Coherent optical frequency transfer at 5e-19 over a doubled 642 km fiber link

To significantly improve the frequency references used in radio-astronomy and precision measurements in atomic physics, we provide frequency dissemination through a 642 km coherent optical fiber link, that will be also part of a forthcoming European network of optical links. We obtained a resolution of 3e-19 at 1000 s on the frequency transfer, and an accuracy of 5e-19. The ultimate link performance has been evaluated by doubling the link to 1284 km, demonstrating a new characterization technique based on the double round-trip on a single fiber. The arming of a second fiber is avoided: this is beneficial to long hauls realizations in view of a continental fiber network for frequency and time metrology. The data analysis is based on the Allan deviation; its expression is theoretically derived for the observed noise power spectrum, which is seldom found in the literature.

physics.optics

The Space Optical Clocks Project: Development of high-performance transportable and breadboard optical clocks and advanced subsystems

The use of ultra-precise optical clocks in space ("master clocks") will allow for a range of new applications in the fields of fundamental physics (tests of Einstein's theory of General Relativity, time and frequency metrology by means of the comparison of distant terrestrial clocks), geophysics (mapping of the gravitational potential of Earth), and astronomy (providing local oscillators for radio ranging and interferometry in space). Within the ELIPS-3 program of ESA, the "Space Optical Clocks" (SOC) project aims to install and to operate an optical lattice clock on the ISS towards the end of this decade, as a natural follow-on to the ACES mission, improving its performance by at least one order of magnitude. The payload is planned to include an optical lattice clock, as well as a frequency comb, a microwave link, and an optical link for comparisons of the ISS clock with ground clocks located in several countries and continents. Undertaking a necessary step towards optical clocks in space, the EU-FP7-SPACE-2010-1 project no. 263500 (SOC2) (2011-2015) aims at two "engineering confidence", accurate transportable lattice optical clock demonstrators having relative frequency instability below 1\times10^-15 at 1 s integration time and relative inaccuracy below 5\times10^-17. This goal performance is about 2 and 1 orders better in instability and inaccuracy, respectively, than today's best transportable clocks. The devices will be based on trapped neutral ytterbium and strontium atoms. One device will be a breadboard. The two systems will be validated in laboratory environments and their performance will be established by comparison with laboratory optical clocks and primary frequency standards. In this paper we present the project and the results achieved during the first year.

quant-ph

Black Body Radiation Shift of the 133Cs Hyperfine Transition Frequency

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.

physics.atom-ph

Measurement of the Blackbody Radiation Shift of the 133Cs Hyperfine Transition in an Atomic Fountain

We used a Cs atomic fountain frequency standard to measure the Stark shift on the ground state hyperfine transiton frequency in cesium (9.2 GHz) due to the electric field generated by the blackbody radiation. The measures relative shift at 300 K is -1.43(11)e-14 and agrees with our theoretical evaluation -1.49(07)e-14. This value differs from the currently accepted one -1.69(04)e-14. The difference has a significant implication on the accuracy of frequency standards, in clocks comparison, and in a variety of high precision physics tests such as the time stability of fundamental constants.

physics.atom-ph