About Project

The optical lattice clock, taken as a ridiculous idea in 2001, has come true and changed the game for building highly precise and stable atomic clocks. In this project, we will develop a space-time information platform by networking “optical lattice clocks”, which improve the uncertainty of atomic clocks used in GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) by three orders of magnitude. Such a platform will benefit future high-capacity network systems, navigation, and other services.

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NEWS

2024/11/21

Joint press release from the JST, University of Tokyo, Riken, Shimadzu Corporation and JEOL Ltd.
As part of the JST-Mirai Program, researchers from the University of Tokyo and RIKEN, in collaboration with Shimadzu Corporation and JEOL Limited, have successfully developed a compact and robust high-precision optical lattice clock.
･Press Release:
Successful development of the world’s first compact and robust high-precision optical lattice clock with a 250-L volume   　
-- Toward real-world applications of optical lattice clocks --
　JST, U-tokyo,  RIKEN,  Shimadzu Corporation,  JEOL Ltd.
  News Site:  EurekAlert!,  AlphaGalileo 

2024/10/30

A paper on international frequency comparison using portable optical lattice clocks has been published.
International comparison of optical frequencies with transportable optical lattice clocks

2024/9/10

A workshop for the project was held at Shimadzu Technology Research Laboratory.

2024/9/9

A site visit for the project was held at Shimadzu Technology Research Laboratory.

2024/7/17

An interview with Program Manager Professor Katori was posted on the website of Japan Power Development (Jpower).
A Gift from Scientists for the Future Half a Century from Now(Japanese)

2024/6/8

Press release from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). AIST and Yokohama National University have successfully generated a highly accurate time system using an optical lattice clock for 230 consecutive days.
･Press Release(Japanese):
 High-availability optical lattice clock generates the world's highest standard time system   　
 -Progress Toward Long-Term Stable Time-Frequency National Standard-
･Paper: 　
 Takumi Kobayashi, Daisuke Akamatsu, Kazumoto Hosaka, Yusuke Hisai, Akiko Nishiyama, Akio Kawasaki, Masato Wada, Hajime Inaba, Takehiko Tanabe, Tomonari Suzuyama, Feng-Lei Hong, Masami Yasuda, 　
 Generation of a precise time scale assisted by a near-continuously operating optical lattice clock, 　
 Phys. Rev. Applied 21, 7 June 2024.

2024/4/13

The award ceremony for the Breakthrough Prize, which was awarded to Program Manager Professor Katori, was held in Los Angeles, U.S.A.
Professor Katori had been awarded the Breakthrough Priz in Fundamental Physics in FY2022, but the award ceremony was postponed due to a pandemic.

2024/4/4

Logo of the University of Tokyo has been updated. The logo of the UTokyo is new as of April 1.

2024/3/7

Joint press release from the University of Tokyo, RIKEN, and JEOL.
"A research team led by Assistant Professor Shoichi Okaba and Professor Hidetoshi Katori at the University of Tokyo has developed the world's first continuous atom source in which laser-cooled atoms are drawn out by an optical belt conveyor and further output by changing the direction of motion with a crossing optical belt conveyor. The paper was also published in Physical Review Applied."
･Press Release:
 Continuous generation of an ultracold atomic beam using crossed moving optical lattices
 The University of Tokyo,  RIKEN(Japanese),  JEOL(Japanese)
･Paper:
  Shoichi Okaba, Ryoto Takeuchi, Shigenori Tsuji and Hidetoshi Katori,
  Continuous generation of an ultracold atomic beam using crossed moving optical lattices,
  Physical Review Applied 21, 034006 – Published 5 March 2024.

2023/12/18

A workshop for the project was held at RIKEN to discuss the results of the current term and plans for the next term.

2023/12/12

Program Manager Professor Katori was selected as a new member of the Japan Academy.
･The Japan Academy
･Selection of Members of the Japan Academy(Japanese)
･Faculty of Engineering the University of Tokyo:
  Professor Hidetoshi Katori elected the membership of the Japan Academy
･RIKEN:
  Hidetoshi Katori, team leader, was elected as a member of the Japan Academy(Japanese)

2023/9/26

A site visit of the project was held as a hybrid of online and on-site, hosted by Shimadzu Technology Research Laboratory.

2023/8/22

Link updated.
Space-time information platform with a cloud of optical lattice clocks　Links

2023/7/21

Mr. Takafumi Horie, an entrepreneur and investor, posted his impressions of his visit to Katori Lab on the content delivery platform "note".
Optical lattice clocks leads to new space business

2023/7/6

Press release from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). Direct excitation of clock transitions at wavelengths of ytterbium atoms has been observed, and the absolute frequency of these transitions has been successfully measured for the first time in the world. The newly measured absolute frequency of the clock transition can be incorporated into optical lattice clocks to suppress time base fluctuations caused by environmental disturbances and contribute to their higher accuracy.
･Press Release(Japanese):
Succeeded in precise spectroscopy of clock transitions with high sensitivity to environmental disturbances to further improve the precision of optical lattice clocks   - Accelerate discussion on Redefining the Second -
･Paper:
　Akio Kawasaki, Takumi Kobayashi, Akiko Nishiyama, Takehiko Tanabe, and Masami Yasuda,
　Observation of the 4f¹⁴6s^{2 1}S₀−4f¹³5d6s²(J=2) clock transition at 431 nm in Yb,
　Phys. Rev. A 107, L060801.

2023/4/6

A new paper is now available.
Ryoto Takeuchi, Hayaki Chiba, Shoichi Okaba, Masao Takamoto, Shigenori Tsuji and Hidetoshi Katori,
Continuous outcoupling of ultracold strontium atoms combining three different traps,
The Japan Society of Applied Physics.

Past News (2019/12/2~2023/3/14)