Theoretical Investigation of the Black-body Zeeman Shift for Microwave Atomic Clocks

Abstract

With the development of microwave atomic clocks, the Zeeman shifts for the spectral lines of black-body radiation need to be investigated carefully. In this Letter, the frequency shifts of hyperfine splittings of atomic ground states due to the magnetic field of black-body radiation are reported. The relative frequency shifts of different alkali atoms and alkali-like ions, which could be candidates of microwave atomic clocks, were calculated. The results vary from $-0.977\times 10^{-17}[T(K)/300{]}^2$ to $-1.947\times 10^{-17}[T(K)/300{]}^2$ for different atoms considered. These results are consistent with previous work but with greater precision, detailed derivations, and a clear physical picture.