The Application of Low-Frequency Transition in the Assessment of the Second-Order Zeeman Frequency Shift

Second-order Zeeman frequency shift is one of the major systematic factors affecting the frequency uncertainty performance of cesium atomic fountain clock. Second-order Zeeman frequency shift is calculated by experimentally measuring the central frequency of the (1,1) or (−1,−1) magnetically sensitive Ramsey transition. The low-frequency transition method can be used to measure the magnetic field strength and to predict the central fringe of (1,1) or (−1,−1) magnetically sensitive Ramsey transition. In this paper, we deduce the formula for magnetic field measurement using the low-frequency transition method and measured the magnetic field distribution of 4 cm inside the Ramsey cavity and 32 cm along the flight region experimentally. The result shows that the magnetic field fluctuation is less than 1 nT. The influence of low-frequency pulse signal duration on the accuracy of magnetic field measurement is studied and the optimal low-frequency pulse signal duration is determined. The central fringe of (−1,−1) magnetically sensitive Ramsey transition can be predicted by using a numerical integrating of the magnetic field “map”. Comparing the predicted central fringe with that identified by Ramsey method, the frequency difference between these two is, at most, a fringe width of 0.3. We apply the experimentally measured central frequency of the (−1,−1) Ramsey transition to the Breit-Rabi formula, and the second-order Zeeman frequency shift is calculated as 131.03 × 10−15, with the uncertainty of 0.10 × 10−15.

The magnetic compass mechanisms of birds and rodents are based on different physical principles

Recently, oscillating magnetic fields in the MHz-range were introduced as a useful diagnostic tool to identify the mechanism underlying magnetoreception. The effect of very weak high-frequency fields on the orientation of migratory birds indicates that the avian magnetic compass is based on a radical pair mechanism. To analyse the nature of the magnetic compass of mammals, we tested rodents, Ansell's mole-rats, using their tendency to build their nests in the southern part of the arena as a criterion whether or not they could orient. In contrast to birds, their orientation was not disrupted when a broad-band field of 0.1–10 MHz of 85 nT or a 1.315 MHz field of 480 nT was added to the static geomagnetic field of 46 000 nT. Even increasing the intensity of the 1.315 MHz field (Zeeman frequency in the local geomagnetic field) to 4800 nT, more than a tenth of the static field, the mole-rats remained unaffected and continued to build their nests in the south. These results indicate that in contrast to that of birds, their magnetic compass does not involve radical pair processes; it seems to be based on a fundamentally different principle, which probably involves magnetite.

Powder Zeeman Study of the Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance Lower Transition Spectrum for I = 5/2; Application to Orthoperiodic Acid

The Zeeman effect of the nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) lower transition (± 3/2 ↔ 1/2) spectrum for I=5/2 in crystalline powder has been studied and the frequency splittings of the ±3/2 ↔ ± 1/2 transition line have been plotted as a function of the asymmetry parameter η and the external magnetic field H. The experimental Zeeman frequency splittings of the 127I lower transition line in crystalline powder of H5IO6 have been compared with the theoretical values in order to evaluate η. The present value of η agrees with the earlier values reported from the two transition frequencies and also from a single crystal Zeeman study on the ± 3/2 ↔ ± 1/2 transition line.