Inhibiting phase drift in multi-atom clocks using the quantum Zeno effect

Abstract

The accuracy of an atomic clock depends in part on the bandwidth of the relevant atomic transitions. Here we consider an ensemble of atoms whose transition frequencies have been independently perturbed by environmental effects or other factors. We consider the possibility of using the quantum Zeno effect to lock the relative phase of the atoms, which would decrease their effective bandwidth by a factor of \(1/\sqrt N .\) We analyze an example in which the quantum Zeno effect can be used to lock the relative phase of a pair of atoms, after which the elapsed time can be determined. Practical applications may require \(N>>1\) in order to achieve a good signal-to-noise ratio.

Superactivating Bound Entanglement in Quantum Networks via Quantum Zeno Dynamics and a Novel Algorithm for Optimized Zeno Evolution

“…QZE is promising for protecting a quantum system by slowing down its interactions with its environment [18][19][20][21][22]. Frequent measurements can also speed up the interaction of a quantum system and its environment, which is known as the anti-Zeno effect [17].…”