Uncertainty of Cesium-Beam Time Standards Due to Beam Asymmetry

Abstract

As a consequence of the spatial phase distribution in the resonators of cesium-beam time and frequency standards, the generated frequency depends on the specific path of the atomic beam. A change of the position of the atomic beam source may result in a beam displacement normal to the beam direction. For a deflection system consisting of a combination of quadrupole and hexapole magnets for two-dimensional beam deflection, the displacement of the center of mass of the beam resulting from a misalignment of the beam source is computed. To this end, the distribution of the beam intensity on the collector is first determined. It is shown that for the cesium-beam time and frequency standard CSI of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PIB), the uncertainty of the position of the center of mass of the beam entails a contribution to the uncertainty of the standard of less than 1 X 10-15. The amount of the displacement of the center of mass of the beam can be determined from the decrease of the beam flux on the collector caused by an adjustment of the beam source.