Optical clock network tracks tidal variations of the gravity potential

Auteurs : Kilian Stahl, Ingo Nosske, Chetan Vishwakarma, Tim Lücke, Joshua Klose, Erik Benkler, Alexander Kuhl, Shambo Mukherjee, Thomas Legero, Jochen Kronjäger, Uwe Sterr, Christian Lisdat, Sören Dörscher, Chen-Hao Feng, Matthew Y. H. Johnson, Jacques-Olivier Gaudron, Wei Huang, Jacob Tunesi, Xi Zhang, Marco Schioppo, Adam L. Parke, Ian R. Hill, Heiner Denker, Biplab Dutta, Etienne Cantin, Olivier Lopez, Anne Amy-Klein, Christian Chardonnet, Benjamin Pointard, Rodolphe Le Targat, Jérôme Lodewyck, Paul-Eric Pottie, Ichiro Ushijima, Masao Takamoto, Hidetoshi Katori, Yogeshwar B. Kale, Stefano Condio, Irene Goti, Tommaso Petrucciani, Cecilia Clivati, Simone Donadello, Filippo Levi, Davide Calonico, Marco Pizzocaro

arXiv: 2610.39635v1 (astro-ph.EP)

Soumis à arXiv le 29 Oct. 2026

Licence : NONEXCLUSIVE-DISTRIB 1.0

Résumé scientifique

Gravity affects the passage of time, as described by General Relativity. On Earth, the rate of a clock as seen by a fixed observer changes by about one part in $10^{16}$ per metre in height. Chronometric levelling exploits this effect to directly measure differences in gravity potential by comparing distant clocks. It has been proposed as a complementary approach to established geodetic techniques for linking height reference systems and monitoring the terrestrial gravity potential. Experimental demonstrations have to date focused primarily on static potential differences. Yet, the potentials of the Moon, the Sun and other celestial bodies as well as the Earth's response to their tidal forcing change clock rates by several $10^{-17}$, providing a predictable test signal to demonstrate optical clock networks resolving small variations in relativistic time dilation. Here, we report chronometric observations of time-varying gravity potential differences using a network of optical clocks and phase-stabilized fibre links in Europe. Two distinct geographical configurations, with baselines of about 800 km each, result in different combinations of diurnal and semidiurnal tidal components. One comparison uses a transportable optical clock as a remote sensor. The measured rate shifts track the tidal variations, resolving the predicted signal within 1 d of measurement and agreeing with model predictions. These results extend experimental chronometric levelling from static to dynamic potential differences and highlight the need to account for the time dependence of relativistic time dilation in frequency metrology. They also open the prospect for quantum clock networks with improved stability and availability to move beyond known tides and monitor other gravity potential variations, such as those arising from surface deformation and mass redistribution in geologically or volcanically active regions.

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Optical clock network tracks tidal variations of the gravity potential

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