In the weak-magnetic-field approximation, we derived a general expression of hyperfine-induced Landé $g$-factors. By using this formula and the multi-configuration Dirac-Hartree-Fock theory, the $g$-factors were calculated for the $3s3p~^3\!P^o_0$ clock state in $^{27}$Al$^+$ and $5s5p~^3\!P^o_0$ in $^{87}$Sr. The present results, $δg^{(1)}_{\rm hfs}(^3\!P^o_0) = -1.183(6) \times 10^{-3}$ for $^{27}$Al$^+$ and $δg^{(1)}_{\rm hfs}(^3\!P^o_0) = 7.78(30) \times 10^{-5}$ for $^{87}$Sr agree with experimental values very well. Our theory is also useful to predict hyperfine-induced Landé $g$-factors for other atomic systems.
We derive an expression for the magnetic blackbody shift of hyperfine transitions such as the cesium primary reference transition which defines the second. The shift is found to be a complicated function of temperature, and has a T^2 dependence only in the high-temperature limit. We also calculate the shift of ground-state p_1/2 hyperfine transitions which have been proposed as new atomic clock transitions. In this case interaction with the p_3/2 fine-structure multiplet may be the dominant effect.
Hyperfine-induced electric dipole contributions may significantly increase probabilities of otherwise very weak electric octupole and magnetic quadrupole atomic clock transitions (e.g. transitions between $s$ and $f$ electron orbitals). These transitions can be used for exceptionally accurate atomic clocks, quantum information processing and search for dark matter. They are very sensitive to new physics beyond the Standard Model, such as temporal variation of the fine structure constant, the Lorentz invariance and Einstein equivalence principle violation. We formulate conditions under which th…
We evaluate the electric quadrupole moments of the ${^1}\!S_0$ and ${^3}\!P_0$ clock states of $^{27}$Al$^+$ and $^{115}$In$^+$. To capture all dominant contributions, our analysis extends through third order of perturbation theory and includes hyperfine coupling of the electrons to both the magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole moments of the nucleus. For $^{27}$Al$^+$, a fortuitous cancellation leads to a suppressed frequency shift. This should allow for continued improvement of the clock without special techniques to control or cancel the shift, such as the averaging schemes that are crit…
Spherically-symmetric ground states of alkali-metal atoms do not posses electric quadrupole moments. However, the hyperfine interaction between nuclear moments and atomic electrons distorts the spherical symmetry of electronic clouds and leads to non-vanishing atomic quadrupole moments. We evaluate these hyperfine-induced quadrupole moments using techniques of relativistic many-body theory and compile results for Li, Na, K, Rb, and Cs atoms. For heavy atoms we find that the hyperfine-induced quadrupole moments are strongly (two orders of magnitude) enhanced by correlation effects. We further a…
We have developed an all-particle Fock-space relativistic coupled-cluster method to calculate the properties of two-valence atoms and ions. Using the method we compute the properties associated with hyperfine induced $^1S_0 - ^3P^o_0$ clock transition in Al$^+$. Our result of the $^3P^o_0$ metastable state life time, $20.20 \pm 0.91$ s, is in excellent agreement with the experimental value, $20.60 \pm 1.4$ s [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 98}, 220801 (2007)]. Our studies show that the contributions from the triple excitations, and the corrections from the Breit interaction and QED effects are essentia…
We describe a new method to determine the position of the atomic cloud during its interaction with the microwave field in the cavity of a fountain clock. The positional information is extracted from the spectrum of the F=3,mF=0 to F=4,mF=-1 hyperfine transition, which shows a position dependent asymmetry when the magnetic C-field is tilted by a few degrees with respect to the cavity axis. Analysis of this spectral asymmetry provides the horizontal center-of-mass position for the ensemble of atoms contributing to frequency measurements. With an uncertainty on the order of 0.1 mm, the obtained i…
We consider hyperfine-mediated effects for clock transitions in $^{176}$Lu$^+$. Mixing of fine structure levels due to the hyperfine interaction bring about modifications to Landé $g$-factors and the quadrupole moment for a given state. Explicit expressions are derived for both $g$-factor and quadrupole corrections, for which leading order terms arise from the nuclear magnetic dipole coupling. High accuracy measurements of the $g$-factors for the $^1S_0$ and $^3D_1$ hyperfine levels are carried out, which provide an experimental determination of the leading order correction terms.
We use the technique of coherent population trapping (CPT) to access the ground hyperfine interval (clock transition) in $^{133}$Cs. The probe and control beams required for CPT are obtained from a single compact diode laser system. The phase coherence between the beams, whose frequency difference is the clock frequency, is obtained by frequency modulating the laser with an electro-optic modulator (EOM). The EOM is fiber coupled and hence does not require alignment, and the atoms are contained in a vapor cell. Both of these should prove advantageous for potential use as atomic clocks in satell…
We report the first experimental determination of the hyperfine quenching rate of the $6s^2\ ^1\!S_0\ (F=1/2) - 6s6p\ ^3\!P_0\ (F=1/2)$ transition in $^{171}$Yb with nuclear spin $I=1/2$. This rate determines the natural linewidth and the Rabi frequency of the clock transition of a Yb optical frequency standard. Our technique involves spectrally resolved fluorescence decay measurements of the lowest lying $^3\!P_{0,1}$ levels of neutral Yb atoms embedded in a solid Ne matrix. The solid Ne provides a simple way to trap a large number of atoms as well as an efficient mechanism for populating $^3…
Due to the low sensitivity of the thulium optical clock to black-body radiation and good accuracy and stability estimations, it appears to be one of the most promising transportable optical clocks. One of the leading systematic effects for Tm clock transition, namely the second-order Zeeman effect, can be canceled by probing two clock transitions between different hyperfine levels of ground and metastable states during the clock operation. We prepare the atoms in $m_F=0$ state of both ground hyperfine levels simultaneously and excite alternately two clock transitions. Here we demonstrate effic…
We propose a new class of atomic microwave clocks based on the hyperfine transitions in the ground state of aluminum or gallium atoms trapped in optical lattices. For these elements magic wavelengths exist at which both levels of the hyperfine doublet are shifted at the same rate by the lattice laser field, cancelling its effect on the clock transition. Our analysis of various systematic effects shows that, while offering an improved control over systematic errors, the accuracy of the proposed microwave clock is competitive to that of the state-of-the-art primary frequency standard.
We propose and experimentally demonstrate a scheme which effects hyperfine averaging during a Ramsey interrogation of a clock transition. The method eliminates the need to average over multiple optical transitions, reduces the sensitivity of the clock to its environment, and reduces inhomogeneous broadening in a multi-ion clock. The method is compatible with auto-balanced Ramsey spectroscopy, which facilitates elimination of residual shifts due to imperfect implementation and ac Stark shifts from the optical probe. We demonstrate the scheme using correlation spectroscopy of the $^1S_0$-to-$^3D…
We present our experimental investigation of an optical Raman transition between the magnetic clock states of $^{87}$Rb in an atom chip magnetic trap. The transfer of atomic population is induced by a pair of diode lasers which couple the two clock states off-resonantly to an intermediate state manifold. This transition is subject to destructive interference of two excitation paths, which leads to a reduction of the effective two-photon Rabi-frequency. Furthermore, we find that the transition frequency is highly sensitive to the intensity ratio of the diode lasers. Our results are well describ…
We demonstrate subpicosecond-time-scale population transfer between the pair of hyperfine ground states of atomic rubidium using a single laser-pulse. Our scheme utilizes the geometric and dynamic phases induced during Rabi oscillation through the fine-structure excited state in order to construct an $X$ rotation gate for the hyperfine-state qubit system. Experiment performed with a femtosecond laser and cold rubidium atoms, in a magneto-optical trap, shows over 98\% maximal population transfer between the clock states.
We analyze doubly magic trapping of Cs hyperfine transitions including previously neglected contributions from the ground state hyperpolarizability and the interaction of the laser light and a static magnetic field. Extensive numerical searches do not reveal any doubly magic trapping conditions for any pair of hyperfine states. However, including the hyperpolarizability reveals light intensity insensitive traps for a wide range of wavelengths at specific intensities. We then investigate the possibility of using bichromatic trapping light fields. Deploying a bichromatic scheme, we demonstrate d…
In atomic systems, clock states feature a zero projection of the total angular momentum and thus a low sensitivity to magnetic fields. This makes them widely used for metrological applications like atomic fountains or gravimeters. Here, we show that a mixture of two such non-magnetic states still display magnetic dipole-dipole interactions. Using high resolution spectroscopy of a planar gas of $^{87}$Rb atoms with a controlled in-plane shape, we explore the effective isotropic and extensive character of these interactions and demonstrate their tunability. Our measurements set strong constraint…
Hyperfine quenching rates of the lowest-energy metastable $^3P_0$ and $^3P_2$ states of Mg, Ca, Sr, and Yb atoms are computed. The calculations are carried out using ab initio relativistic many-body methods. The computed lifetimes may be useful for designing novel ultra-precise optical clocks and trapping experiments with the $3P_2$ fermionic isotopes. The resulting natural widths of the $^3P_0 -> ^1S_0$ clock transition are 0.44 mHz for $^{25}$Mg, 2.2 mHz for $^{43}$Ca, 7.6 mHz for $^{87}$Sr, 43.5 mHz for $^{171}$Yb, and 38.5 mHz for $^{173}$Yb. Compared to the bosonic isotopes, the lifetime …
We present a theoretical analysis of the Stark effect in the hyperfine structure of the cesium ground-state. We have used third order perturbation theory, including diagonal and off-diagonal hyperfine interactions, and have identified terms which were not considered in earlier treatments. A numerical evaluation using perturbing levels up to n=18 yields new values for the tensor polarizability $α_2(6S_{1/2})$ and for the Stark shift of the clock transition frequency in cesium. The polarizabilities are in good agreement with experimental values, thereby removing a 40-year-old discrepancy. The cl…
Energy levels, hyperfine interaction constants, and Landé $g_J$-factors are reported for n=2 states in beryllium-, boron-, carbon-, and nitrogen-like ions from relativistic configuration interaction calculations. Valence, core-valence, and core-core correlation effects are taken into account through single and double-excitations from multireference expansions to increasing sets of active orbitals. A systematic comparison of the calculated hyperfine interaction constants is made with values from the available literature.
High precision spectroscopy of the $^1S_0$-to-${^1}D_2$ clock transition of $^{176}$Lu is reported. Measurements are performed with Hertz level precision with the accuracy of the hyperfine-averaged frequency limited by the calibration of an active hydrogen maser to the SI definition of the second via a GPS link. The measurements also provide accurate determination of the $^1D_2$ hyperfine structure. Hyperfine structure constants associated with the magnetic octupole and electric hexadecapole moments of the nucleus are considered, which includes a derivation of correction terms from third-order…
The microwave clock frequency of the $|5s~^2S_{1/2}, F=0,m_F=0 \rangle \leftrightarrow |5s~^2S_{1/2}, F=1,m_F=0 \rangle$ transition in the $^{113}$Cd$^+$ ion has been reported as 15199862855.0192(10) Hz [Opt. Lett. {\bf 40}, 4249 (2015)]. Fractional systematic due to the black-body radiation (BBR) shift ($β$) arising from the Stark effect in the above clock transition was used as $-1.1 \times 10^{-16}$ from our unpublished preliminary estimation. We present here a precise value as $β=-1.815(77) \times 10^{-16}$ by carrying out rigorous calculations of third-order polarizabilities of the hyperf…
Searching for an accurate optical clock which can serve as a better time standard than the present day atomic clock is highly demanding from several areas of science and technology. Several attempts have been made to built more accurate clocks with different ion species. In this article we discuss the electric quadrupole and hyperfine shifts in the $5d^{9}6s^{2} ^{2}D_{5/2}(F=0,m_{F}=0)\leftrightarrow5d^{10}6s ^{2}S_{1/2}(F=2,m_{F}=0)$ clock transition in $ ^{199}Hg^{+}$, one of the most promising candidates for next generation optical clocks. We have applied Fock-space unitary coupled-cluster…
We present additional magic wavelengths ($λ_{\rm{magic}}$) for the clock transitions in the alkaline-earth metal ions considering circular polarized light aside from our previously reported values in [J. Kaur et al., Phys. Rev. A {\bf 92}, 031402(R) (2015)] for the linearly polarized light. Contributions from the vector component to the dynamic dipole polarizabilities ($α_d(ω)$) of the atomic states associated with the clock transitions play major roles in the evaluation of these $λ_{\rm{magic}}$, hence facilitating in choosing circular polarization of lasers in the experiments. Moreover, the …
We report the first laser spectroscopy of the $^1$S$_0$ to $^3$D$_1$ clock transition in $^{175}$Lu$^+$. Clock operation is demonstrated on three pairs of Zeeman transitions, one pair from each hyperfine manifold of the $^3$D$_1$ term. We measure the hyperfine intervals of the $^3$D$_1$ to 10 ppb uncertainty and infer the optical frequency averaged over the three hyperfine transitions to be 353.639 915 952 2 (6) THz. The lifetime of the $^3$D$_1$ state is inferred to be $174^{+23}_{-32}$ hours from the M1 coupling strength.
I searched for the ground state 6.8 and 9.2 GHz hyperfine transitions of rubidium and cesium toward M- and L-dwarfs that show Rb and Cs optical resonance lines. The optical lines can pump the hyperfine transitions, potentially forming masers. These spin-flip transitions of Rb and Cs are the principal transitions used in atomic clocks (the $^{133}$Cs hyperfine transition defines the second). If they are detected in stellar atmospheres, these transitions would provide exceptionally precise clocks that can be used as accelerometers, as exoplanet detectors, as probes of the predictions of general …
Regarding trapped-ion microwave-frequency standards, we report on the determination of hyperfine splittings and Landé $g_J$ factors of $^{111,113}$Cd$^+$. The hyperfine splittings of the $5p~^2P_{3/2}$ state of $^{111,113}$Cd$^+$ ions were measured using laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy. The Cd$^+$ ions were confined in a linear Paul trap and sympathetically cooled by Ca$^+$ ions. Furthermore, the hyperfine splittings and Landé $g_J$ factors of the $5s~^2S_{1/2}$ and $5p~^2P_{1/2,3/2}$ levels of $^{111,113}$Cd$^+$ were calculated with greater accuracy using the multiconfiguration Dirac-…
We report calculations designed to assess the ultimate precision of an atomic clock based on the 578 nm $6 ^1S_0 --> 6 ^3P^o_0$ transition in Yb atoms confined in an optical lattice trap. We find that this transition has a natural linewidth less than 10 mHz in the odd Yb isotopes, caused by hyperfine coupling. The shift in this transition due to the trapping light acting through the lowest order AC polarizability is found to become zero at the magic trap wavelength of about 752 nm. The effects of Rayleigh scattering, higher-order polarizabilities, vector polarizability, and hyperfine induced e…
We apply relativistic many-body methods to compute static differential polarizabilities for transitions inside the ground-state hyperfine manifolds of monovalent atoms and ions. Knowing this transition polarizability is required in a number of high-precision experiments, such as microwave atomic clocks and searches for CP-violating permanent electric dipole moments. While the traditional polarizability arises in the second-order of interaction with the externally-applied electric field, the differential polarizability involves additional contribution from the hyperfine interaction of atomic el…
We evaluate the feasibility of using magnetic-dipole (M1) transitions in highly-charged ions as a basis of an optical atomic clockwork of exceptional accuracy. We consider a range of possibilities, including M1 transitions between clock levels of the same fine-structure and hyperfine-structure manifolds. In highly charged ions these transitions lie in the optical part of the spectra and can be probed with lasers. The most direct advantage of our proposal comes from the low degeneracy of clock levels and the simplicity of atomic structure in combination with negligible quadrupolar shift. We dem…
Thorium-229 in its Highest Charge States: Single-Ion Nuclear Clocks for Tests of Fundamental Interactions
GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung（GSI亥姆霍兹重离子研究中心）；Helmholtz-Institut Jena（耶拿亥姆霍兹研究所）；Institut für Optik und Quantenelektronik, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena（耶拿弗里德里希·席勒大学光学与量子电子学研究所）；Abbe Center of Photonics（阿贝光子学中心）；Deutsche Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY（德国电子同步辐射所DESY）；Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, ENS-PSL Research University, Collège de France（索邦大学卡斯勒-布罗塞尔实验室，法国国家科学研究中心，巴黎高等师范学院-PSL研究大学，法兰西学院）；Institut für Kernphysik, Universität zu Köln（科隆大学核物理研究所）
We perform high resolution spectroscopy on $^{176}$Lu$^+$ including the $^1S_0\leftrightarrow{^3}D_1$ and $^1S_0\leftrightarrow{^3}D_2$ clock transitions. Hyperfine structures and optical frequencies relative to the $^1S_0$ ground state of four low lying excited states are given to a few tens of kHz resolution. This covers the most relevant transitions involved in clock operation with this isotope. Additionally, measurements of the $^3D_2$ hyperfine structure may provide access to higher order nuclear moments, specifically the magnetic octupole and electric hexadecapole moments.
Employing two state-of-the-art methods, multiconfiguration Dirac--Hartree--Fock and second-order many-body perturbation theory, highly accurate calculations are performed for the lowest 272 fine-structure levels arising from the $2s^{2} 2p^{3}$, $2s 2p^{4}$, $2p^{5}$, $2s^{2} 2p^{2} 3l$~($l=s,p,d$), $2s 2p^{3}3l$ ($l=s,p,d$), and $2p^{4} 3l$ ($l=s,p,d$) configurations in nitrogen-like Ge XXVI. Complete and consistent atomic data, including excitation energies, lifetimes, wavelengths, hyperfine structures, Landé $g_{J}$-factors, and E1, E2, M1, M2 line strengths, oscillator strengths, and trans…
We perform calculations of the dependence of nuclear magnetic moments on quark masses and obtain limits on the variation of $(m_q/Λ_{QCD})$ from recent measurements of hydrogen hyperfine (21 cm) and molecular rotational transitions in quasar absorption systems, atomic clock experiments with hyperfine transitions in H, Rb, Cs, Yb$^+$, Hg$^+$ and optical transition in Hg$^+$. Experiments with Cd$^+$, deuterium/hydrogen, molecular SF$_6$ and Zeeman transitions in $^3$He/Xe are also discussed.
The hyperfine structure of the S1/2-D5/2 quadrupole transition at 729 nm in 43Ca+ has been investigated by laser spectroscopy using a single trapped 43Ca+ ion. We determine the hyperfine structure constants of the metastable level as A=-3.8931(2) MHz and B=-4.241(4) MHz. The isotope shift of the transition with respect to 40Ca+ was measured to be 4134.713(5) MHz. We demonstrate the existence of transitions that become independent of the first-order Zeeman shift at non-zero low magnetic fields. These transitions might be better suited for building a frequency standard than the well-known 'clock…
We have performed ab initio calculations of the frequency shift induced by a static electric field on the cesium clock hyperfine transition. The calculations are used to find the frequency shifts due to blackbody radiation. Our result ($δν/E^2=-2.26(2)\times 10^{-10}$Hz/(V/m)$^2$) is in good agreement with early measurements and ab initio calculations performed in other groups. We present arguments against recent claims that the actual value of the effect might be smaller. The difference ($\sim$ 10%) between ab initio and semiempirical calculations is due to the contribution of the continuum s…
We perform calculations of the dependence of nuclear magnetic moments on quark masses and obtain limits on the variation of m_q/Lambda_{QCD} from recent atomic clock experiments with hyperfine transitions in H, Rb, Cs, Hg+ and optical transtion in Hg+.
We present a detailed experimental and theoretical study of the effect of nuclear spin on the performance of optical lattice clocks. With a state-mixing theory including spin-orbit and hyperfine interactions, we describe the origin of the $^1S_0$-$^3P_0$ clock transition and the differential g-factor between the two clock states for alkaline-earth(-like) atoms, using $^{87}$Sr as an example. Clock frequency shifts due to magnetic and optical fields are discussed with an emphasis on those relating to nuclear structure. An experimental determination of the differential g-factor in $^{87}$Sr is p…
Comprehensive calculations of energy levels, radiative transition parameters, hyperfine structure constants A$_J$-B$_J$, Landé g$_J$ factors and isotope shifts for Sc XX
The present work determines the precise values of magic wavelengths corresponding to the clock transitions 5$^2S$-4$^2D$ of Y$^{2+}$ ion both at the levels of fine- and hyperfine-structures due to the external light beams having linear as well as circular polarization. To calculate the dynamic polarizabilities of the associated states of the transitions, we employ the sum-over-states technique, where the dominating and correlation sensitive part of the sum is evaluated using a highly correlated relativistic coupled-cluster theory. The estimated magic wavelengths of the light beams have substan…
Sun's gravitation potential at earth varies during a year due to varying Earth-Sun distance. Comparing the results of very accurate measurements of atomic clock transitions performed at different time in the year allows us to study the dependence of the atomic frequencies on the gravitational potential. We examine the measurement data for the ratio of the frequencies in Hg$^+$ and Al$^+$ clock transitions and absolute frequency measurements (with respect to caesium frequency standard) for Dy, Sr, H, hyperfine transitions in Rb and H, and obtain significantly improved limits on the values of th…
In this paper we report the development of the design verification model (DVM) of Rb atomic frequency standard. The Rb atomic frequency standard or clock has two distinct parts. One is the Physics Package where the hyperfine transitions produce the clock signal in the integrated filter cell configuration and the other is the electronic circuits which generate the resonant microwave hyperfine frequency, phase modulator and phase sensitive detector. In this paper the details of the Rb Physics package and the electronic circuits are given. The effect of putting the photo detector inside the micro…
We consider optimization of a rubidium atom clock that uses magnetically trapped Bose condensed atoms in a highly elongated trap, and determine the optimal conditions for minimum Allan variance of the clock using microwave Ramsey fringe spectroscopy. Elimination of magnetic field shifts and collisional shifts are considered. The effects of spin-dipolar relaxation are addressed in the optimization of the clock. We find that for the interstate interaction strength equal to or larger than the intrastate interaction strengths, a modulational instability results in phase separation and symmetry bre…
Relativistic Calculation of Energies, Transition Parameters Hyperfine Structure, Landé g$_J$ and Isotope shifts factors for Ar$^{7+}$, Kr$^{25+}$ and Xe$^{43+}$ ions
We perform calculations of the dependence of nuclear magnetic moments on quark masses and obtain limits on the variation of the ratio of quark mass and strong interaction scale (m_q/Lambda_{QCD}) from recent atomic clock experiments with hyperfine transitions in H, Rb, Cs, Yb+, Hg+ and optical transition in Hg+. Experiments with Cd+, deuterium/hydrogen, molecule SF_6, Zeeman transitions in He_3/Xe are also discussed.
We calculate the dependence of the nuclear magnetic moments on the quark masses including the spin-spin interaction effects and obtain limits on the variation of the fine structure constant $α$ and $(m_q/Λ_{QCD})$ using recent atomic clock experiments examining hyperfine transitions in H, Rb, Cs, Yb$^+$ and Hg$^+$ and the optical transition in H, Hg$^+$ and Yb$^+$ .
Relativistic configuration-interaction and coupled-cluster calculations of Ir$^{17+}$ transition energies and properties for optical clock applications
$^{229}$Th is a promising candidate for developing a nuclear optical clock and searching the new physics beyond the standard model. Accurate knowledge of the nuclear properties of $^{229}$Th is very important. In this work, we calculate hyperfine-structure constants for the first four states of $^{229}$Th$^{3+}$ using the relativistic coupled-cluster method based on the Gauss basis set. The no-pair Dirac-Coulomb-Breit Hamiltonian with the lowest-order quantum electrodynamics (QED) correction is the starting point, together with all linear and non-linear terms of single and double excitations a…
Investigating Roles of Triple Excitations for High-precision Determination of Clock Properties of Alkaline Earth Metal Singly Charged Ions
Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Division, Physical Research Laboratory（物理研究实验室原子、分子与光学物理分部）；Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar（甘地纳加尔印度理工学院）
We present the concluding result from an Ives-Stilwell-type time dilation experiment using 7Li+ ions confined at a velocity of beta = v/c = 0.338 in the storage ring ESR at Darmstadt. A Lambda-type three-level system within the hyperfine structure of the 7Li+ triplet S1-P2 line is driven by two laser beams aligned parallel and antiparallel relative to the ion beam. The lasers' Doppler shifted frequencies required for resonance are measured with an accuracy of < 4 ppb using optical-optical double resonance spectroscopy. This allows us to verify the Special Relativity relation between the time d…
Accurate measurements of different transition frequencies between atomic levels of the electronic and hyperfine structure over time are used to investigate temporal variations of the fine structure constant $α$ and the proton-to-electron mass ratio $μ$. We measure the frequency of the $^2S_{1/2}\rightarrow {^2F_{7/2}}$ electric octupole (E3) transition in $^{171}$Yb$^+$ against two caesium fountain clocks as $f(E3) = 642\,121\,496\,772\,645.36(25)$~Hz with an improved fractional uncertainty of $3.9\times 10^{-16}$. This transition frequency shows a strong sensitivity to changes of $α$. Togethe…
