Realization of a pulsed optically pumped Rb clock with a frequency stability below [Formula: see text].

We present the frequency stability performances of a vapor cell Rb clock based on the pulsed optically pumping (POP) technique. The clock has been developed in the frame of a collaboration between INRIM and Leonardo SpA, aiming to realize a space-qualified POP frequency standard. The results here reported were obtained with an engineered physics package, specifically designed for space applications, joint to laboratory-grade optics and electronics.

Deep underground rotation measurements: GINGERino ring laser gyroscope in Gran Sasso.

GINGERino is a large frame laser gyroscope investigating the ground motion in the most inner part of the underground international laboratory of the Gran Sasso, in central Italy. It consists of a square ring laser with a 3.6 m side.

Compensation of the laser parameter fluctuations in large ring-laser gyros: a Kalman filter approach.

He-Ne ring-laser gyroscopes are, at present, the most precise devices for absolute angular velocity measurements. Limitations to their performance come from the nonlinear dynamics of the laser. Following Lamb semiclassical theory, we find a set of critical parameters affecting the time stability of the system.

Rotational sensitivity of the G-Pisa gyrolaser.

G-Pisa is an experiment investigating the possibility of operating a high-sensitivity laser gyroscope with area less than 1 m2 for improving the performances of the mirrors suspensions of the gravitational wave antenna Virgo. The experimental set-up consists of a He-Ne ring laser with a 4-mirror square cavity. The laser is pumped by an RF discharge where the RF oscillator includes the laser plasma to reach a better stability.

Thermal control of a dual mode parametric sapphire transducer.

We propose a method to control the thermal stability of a sapphire dielectric transducer made with 2 dielectric disks separated by a thin gap and resonating in the whispering gallery (WG) modes of the electromagnetic field. The simultaneous measurement of the frequencies of both a WGH mode and a WGE mode allows one to discriminate the frequency shifts due to gap variations from those due to temperature instability. A simple model, valid in quasi-equilibrium conditions, describes the frequency shift of the 2 modes in terms of 4 tuning parameters.