Schematic structure of the new optical clock (IMAGE)

Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB)

Schematic structure of the new optical clock

Caption

Unlike other atoms (left), ytterbium-173 (right) has a large nuclear spin and a strongly deformed nucleus whose strong fields interact with the electron shell. This turns forbidden quantum jumps into allowed transitions (see red-green arrow "slightly allowed") and makes it easier to excite the transition with a laser.

Credit

Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB)

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