Ytterbium atomic clock could open a new window on fundamental physics

For the first time, an international team of physicists has successfully harnessed a rare orbital transition in atoms of ytterbium to create a new type of atomic clock that is both highly precise and extremely sensitive to fundamental physical effects. Publishing their results in Nature Photonics, the researchers, led by Taiki Ishiyama at Kyoto University, say their approach could pave the way for some of the most stringent tests yet of predictions made by the Standard Model. For the first time, an international team of physicists has successfully harnessed a rare orbital transition in atoms of ytterbium to create a new type of atomic clock that is both highly precise and extremely sensitive to fundamental physical effect... [4431 chars]