AWhat changed
An aluminium-ion optical clock combined quantum-logic readout, a one-second interrogation enabled by a remote cavity-stabilized laser, and an improved trap and vacuum system. The authors report fractional systematic uncertainty of 5.5 × 10⁻¹⁹ and fractional instability of 3.5 × 10⁻¹⁶/√(τ/s), estimated by comparison with a strontium lattice clock.
Scientific scope
An aluminium-ion optical clock combined quantum-logic readout, a one-second interrogation enabled by a remote cavity-stabilized laser, and an improved trap and vacuum system. The authors report fractional systematic uncertainty of 5.5 × 10⁻¹⁹ and fractional instability of 3.5 × 10⁻¹⁶/√(τ/s), estimated by comparison with a strontium lattice clock. The instability is a fitted comparison stability beyond the reported servo time, while 5.5 × 10⁻¹⁹ is the authors’ systematic uncertainty budget. In v1 the clock-operation passage says 26Mg+; v2 corrects that passage to 25Mg+, consistent with its abstract and supplement, but a separate v2 passage still says 27Mg+ for preparation/readout. The precise resolution of the residual inconsistent label remains unverified; avoid an unconditional isotope-specific claim. Their collision-shift figures differ slightly by rounding or version within the same manuscript: main text reports −(0.25 ± 0.36)×10⁻¹⁹ and the supplement reports −(0.26 ± 0.37)×10⁻¹⁹. Both are conditional estimates; no independent recalculation was performed.
Evidence
The linked original works support the scoped statement and contribution attribution. WRS has not independently replayed experiments or reconstructed a full mathematical proof. The instability is a fitted comparison stability beyond the reported servo time, while 5.5 × 10⁻¹⁹ is the authors’ systematic uncertainty budget. In v1 the clock-operation passage says 26Mg+; v2 corrects that passage to 25Mg+, consistent with its abstract and supplement, but a separate v2 passage still says 27Mg+ for preparation/readout. The precise resolution of the residual inconsistent label remains unverified; avoid an unconditional isotope-specific claim. Their collision-shift figures differ slightly by rounding or version within the same manuscript: main text reports −(0.25 ± 0.36)×10⁻¹⁹ and the supplement reports −(0.26 ± 0.37)×10⁻¹⁹. Both are conditional estimates; no independent recalculation was performed.
Contributors
- The named authors in the research record · SCIENCE: These are the listed authors of the cited contribution sources. Paper authorship does not quantify individual effort. An incomplete list is explicitly marked; same names are not automatically merged.
- High-Stability Single-Ion Clock with 5.5 × 10−19 Systematic Uncertainty
- High-Stability Single-Ion Clock with 5.5 × 10−19 Systematic Uncertainty (version 2)
Provisional WRS assessment, edition 2026-10-28.1. Independent expert calibration is pending. This grade does not certify correctness or assign ownership.
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