Test of special relativity using a fiber network of optical clocks

Abstract

Phase compensated optical fiber links enable high accuracy atomic clocks separated by thousands of kilometers to be compared with unprecedented statistical resolution. By searching for a daily variation of the frequency difference between four strontium optical lattice clocks in different locations throughout Europe connected by such links, we improve upon previous tests of time dilation predicted by special relativity. We obtain a constraint on the Robertson--Mansouri--Sexl parameter $|\alpha |\lesssim 1.1\times 10^{-8}$ quantifying a violation of time dilation, thus improving by a factor of around two the best known constraint obtained with Ives--Stilwell type experiments, and by two orders of magnitude the best constraint obtained by comparing atomic clocks. This work is the first of a new generation of tests of fundamental physics using optical clocks and fiber links. As clocks improve, and as fiber links are routinely operated, we expect that the tests initiated in this paper will improve by orders of magnitude in the near future.

arXiv comment6 pages, 3 figures, published in Phys. Rev. L

References in corpus (28)

• Lorentz-Violating Extension of the Standard Model
• CPT Violation and the Standard Model
• Five-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Data Processing, Sky Maps, and Basic Results
• Modern tests of Lorentz invariance
• Signals for Lorentz Violation in Electrodynamics
• Systematic evaluation of an atomic clock at 2e-18 total uncertainty
• Hunting for topological dark matter with atomic clocks
• Frequency ratio of two optical clock transitions in ${}^{171}$Yb${}^{+}$ and constraints on the time-variation of fundamental constants
• A clock network for geodesy and fundamental science
• Searching for dilaton dark matter with atomic clocks
• Ultra-stable optical clock with two cold-atom ensembles
• Improved limit on a temporal variation of $m_p/m_e$ from comparisons of Yb${}^{+}$ and Cs atomic clocks
• Experimenting an optical second with strontium lattice clocks
• What Do We Know About Lorentz Invariance?
• A strontium lattice clock with $3\times 10^{-17}$ inaccuracy and its frequency
• Optical frequency transfer via 146 km fiber link with 10^{-19} relative accuracy
• Realization of a time-scale with an accurate optical lattice clock
• Spectral purity transfer between optical wavelengths at the $10^{-18}$ level
• Cascaded optical fiber link using the Internet network for remote clocks comparison
• Optical to microwave clock frequency ratios with a nearly continuous strontium optical lattice clock
• Noise and instability of an optical lattice clock
• Test of Time Dilation Using Stored Li+ Ions as Clocks at Relativistic Speed
• Eavesdropping time and frequency: phase noise cancellation along a time-varying path, such as an optical fiber
• Tackling the Limits of Optical Fiber Links
• Relativistic Corrections for Time and Frequency Transfer in Optical Fibres
• Hybrid fiber links for accurate optical frequency comparisons
• Evaluating the performance of the NPL femtosecond frequency combs: Agreement at the $10^{-21}$ level
• A low maintenance Sr optical lattice clock

Cited by in corpus (74)

• Search for New Physics with Atoms and Molecules
• 20 years of developments in optical frequency comb technology and applications
• Atomic clock performance beyond the geodetic limit
• Optical clock intercomparison with $6\times 10^{-19}$ precision in one hour
• Optical clock comparison test of Lorentz symmetry
• Atomic Clocks for Geodesy
• A gravitational redshift test using eccentric Galileo satellites
• First observation with global network of optical atomic clocks aimed for a dark matter detection
• A high-performance optical lattice clock based on bosonic atoms
• Coherent phase transfer for real-world twin-field quantum key distribution
• 113 km Free-Space Time-Frequency Dissemination at the 19th Decimal Instability
• Quantum key distribution over 658 km fiber with distributed vibration sensing
• Inner-shell clock transition in atomic thulium with small BBR shift
• Femtosecond Synchronization of Optical Clocks Off of a Flying Quadcopter
• Point-to-Point Stabilised Optical Frequency Transfer with Active Optics
• Comparing optical oscillators across the air to milliradians in phase and $10^{-17}$ in frequency
• Controlling systematic frequency uncertainties at the $10^{-19}$ level in linear Coulomb crystals
• Lattice-induced photon scattering in an optical lattice clock
• Femtosecond Optical Two-Way Time-Frequency Transfer in the Presence of Motion
• Prospects and challenges for squeezing-enhanced optical atomic clocks
• First industrial-grade coherent fiber link for optical frequency standard dissemination
• The ${}^{229}$Th isomer: prospects for a nuclear optical clock
• Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES) data analysis
• A strontium optical lattice clock with $1\times 10^{-17}$ uncertainty and measurement of its absolute frequency
• The unit of time: present and future directions
• Stabilized free-space optical frequency transfer
• The Companion of Enrico's Chart for Phase Noise and Two-Sample Variances
• Gravitational redshift test with the future ACES mission
• Excess noise and photo-induced effects in highly reflective crystalline mirror coatings
• SI-traceable frequency dissemination at 1572.06 nm in a stabilized fiber network with ring topology
• A terahertz vibrational molecular clock with systematic uncertainty at the $10^{-14}$ level
• Studying fundamental limit of optical fiber links to $10^{-21}$ level
• Combining fiber Brillouin amplification with a repeater laser station for fiber-based optical frequency dissemination over 1400 km
• BOOST -- A Satellite Mission to Test Lorentz Invariance Using High-Performance Optical Frequency References
• Robust optical clock transitions in trapped ions
• Optical Atomic Clock Comparison through Turbulent Air
• Chronometric geodesy: methods and applications
• Ultralight Dark Matter Search with Space-Time Separated Atomic Clocks and Cavities
• Quantum corrected thermodynamics of nonlinearly charged BTZ black holes in massive gravity's rainbow
• Dual-comb-enhanced microwave clock synchronization over commercial fiber
• Cavity-enhanced non-destructive detection of atoms for an optical lattice clock
• Coordinated international comparisons between optical clocks connected via fiber and satellite links
• Time-Frequency Transfer over Optical Fiber
• Search for transient ultralight dark matter signatures with networks of precision measurement devices using a Bayesian statistics method
• Two-Branch Fiber Link for International Clock Networks
• Relativistic tidal effects on clock-comparison experiments
• The Relativistic Geoid: Gravity Potential and Relativistic Effects
• Test of Einstein Equivalence Principle by frequency comparisons of optical clocks
• Preliminary Sensitivity Study for a Gravitational Redshift Measurement with China's Lunar Exploration Project
• Universal formalism for data sharing and processing in clock comparison networks
• Hundred-Femtosecond-Level Concise Optical Time Delay Measurement System Based on Linear Optical Sampling
• Node-downloadable frequency transfer system based on a mode-locked laser with over 100 km of fiber
• Studies of thorium and ytterbium ion trap loading from laser ablation for gravity monitoring with nuclear clocks
• Search for transient variations of the fine structure constant and dark matter using fiber-linked optical atomic clocks
• Constraints on violation of Lorentz symmetry with clock-comparison redshift experiments
• Optical ultra-stable optical clock cavities as resonant mass gravitational wave detectors in search for new physics
• Re-assessing special aspects of Dirac fermions in presence of Lorentz-symmetry violation
• Magic density in a self-rephasing ensemble of trapped ultracold atoms
• Analyzing the optical pumping on the $5s4d{}^1{D}_2-5s8p{}^1{P}_1$ transition in a magneto-optical trap of Sr atoms
• Cold Atoms in Space: Community Workshop Summary and Proposed Road-Map
• Limitation of single-repumping schemes for laser cooling of Sr atoms
• Fundamental Limitations of Rayleigh Backscattering Noise on Fiber-Based Multiple-Access Optical Frequency Transfer
• Photoionization cross sections of ultracold ${}^{88}$Sr in ${}^1$P${}_1$ and ${}^3$S${}_1$ states at 390 nm and the resulting blue-detuned magic wavelength optical lattice clock constraints
• Solar System Experiments in the Search for Dark Energy and Dark Matter
• Improving the Q factor of an optical atomic clock using quantum non-demolition measurement
• E-21 Level Instability Frequency Dissemination over 2067 km noisy Telecommunication Infrastructure
• Direct loading of a Sr magneto-optical trap from a thermal atomic beam
• Exceptional Point Superradiant Lasing with Ultranarrow Linewidth
• International Optical Clock Comparison Using the European Optical Fiber Network
• Robust optical frequency transfer in a noisy urban fiber network
• Direct Measurement of the $5s5p{}^1{P}_1\to 5s4d{}^1{D}_2$ Decay Rate in Strontium
• Dynamic decoupling of laser phase noise in compound atomic clocks
• Seismology with optical links: enabling a global network for submarine earthquake monitoring
• Testing the gravitational redshift with Galileo satellites