Blackbody radiation thermometry in optical lattice clocks with cold Rydberg atoms

• Hugo Tortel (FOP, LTE)

Room: Salle Denisse (ex Atelier) The relentless pursuit of higher precision in optical lattice clocks (OLC) demands ever more refined methods to mitigate environmental perturbations, with blackbody radiation (BBR) induced frequency shifts standing as a major challenge. In this seminar, I will present the work carried out during my PhD to tackle this challenge: perform an in-situ measurement of the BBR seen by the atoms in the clock by exciting them into Rydberg states. First, I will introduce the principal concepts of Rydberg atoms that gives them an enhanced sensitivity to BBR. I will discuss the already existing protocols and their limits when applied to OLC experiments. Second, I will present and detail our original protocol tailored to divalent species of Rydberg atoms, leveraging their distinctive property of autoionization through doubly excited electronic states. I will develop a theoretical model based on this new framework and conclude by assessing its advantages over existing protocols. Finally, I will present the design of an experimental setup, currently under construction at LTE, aimed at validating the feasibility of this approach.