Precision Calculation of Blackbody Radiation Shifts for Optical Frequency Metrology

Abstract

We show that three group IIIB divalent ions, B(+), Al(+), and In(+), have anomalously small blackbody radiation (BBR) shifts of the ns(2) (1)S(0)-nsnp (3)P(0)(o) clock transitions. The fractional BBR shifts for these ions are at least 10 times smaller than those of any other present or proposed optical frequency standards at the same temperature, and are less than 0.3% of the Sr clock shift. We have developed a hybrid configuration-interaction + coupled-cluster method that provides accurate treatment of correlation corrections in such ions and yields a rigorous upper bound on the uncertainty of the final results. We reduce the BBR contribution to the fractional frequency uncertainty of the Al(+) clock to 4×10(-19) at T=300 K. We also reduce the uncertainties due to this effect at room temperature to 10(-18) level for B(+) and In(+) to facilitate further development of these systems for metrology and quantum sensing.