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  • Open Access

Symmetry-Protected Topological Optical Lattice Clock

Tianrui Xu1,2,3,*, Anjun Chu1,2,4, Kyungtae Kim1, James K. Thompson1, Jun Ye1, Tilman Esslinger5, and Ana Maria Rey1,2,†

  • *Contact author: tianruixc@gmail.com
  • †Contact author: arey@jilau1.colorado.edu
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PRX Quantum 6, 030322 – Published 6 August, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/h1nh-thg9

Abstract

We theoretically propose a tunable implementation of symmetry-protected topological phases of matter in a synthetic superlattice, taking advantage of the long coherence time and exquisite spectral resolutions offered by gravity-tilted optical lattice clocks. We describe a protocol similar to Rabi spectroscopy that can be used to probe the distinct topological properties of our system. We then demonstrate how the sensitivity of clocks and interferometers can be protected from unwanted experimental imperfections offered by the underlying topological robustness. The proposed implementation opens a path to exploiting the unique opportunities offered by symmetry-protected topological phases in state-of-the-art quantum sensors.

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Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Popular Summary

Optical lattice clocks (OLCs) use the splitting between two long-lived electronic levels in an atom to provide an unrivaled definition of the second. These clocks have reached record levels of precision, but they will soon reach the point where their steady progress will be limited by small but unwanted experimental imperfections. Therefore, finding protocols to make OLCs more robust is an important milestone.

In this paper, we propose a way to make a leap forward by taking advantage of the robustness offered by “symmetry-protected topological” (SPT) phases. An SPT phase is a type of quantum matter, which minimizes the energy of a Hamiltonian that obeys specific “symmetries.” Its topological character stems from the fact that it remains unaffected to all perturbations that preserve these symmetries. Here, first we show how to create an SPT phase in a tilted OLC and how to probe its topological robustness with standard spectroscopic tools. Next, we show that the intrinsic robustness of such a phase can indeed help to reduce the statistical noise arising from certain experimental imperfections and thus help to improve phase-estimation tasks relevant for frequency standards and inertial sensing.

Our work bridges several rapidly developing fields in physics and may help open up a new experimental paradigm, which benefits from topologically robust states of matter for enhanced quantum sensing.

Article Text

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PRX Quantum 6, 030322– Published 6 August, 2025
  • Received 27 January 2025
  • Accepted 24 June 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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