TIME KEEPING AND TIME AND FREQUENCY DISSEMINATION AT THE ISTITUTO ELETTROTECNICO NAZIONALE (IEN)

P. Cordara, V. Pettiti

Abstract:	The Istituto Elettrotecnico Nazionale time scale UTC (IEN), based on the definition of the SI second, is realized by means of six commercial cesium beam standards and is synchronized with UTC within 5 . The IEN time scale is compared with UTC by means of the Loran-C and GPS signals reception and the measurement results are made available to the time and frequency community on the General Electric Mark III network. The time differences over 10 days between UTC(IEN) and the cesium clocks are also sent to BIH to contribute to the generation of the international atomic time scale TAI. In recent years (1982-1985), the IEN took also part in some international time synchronization experiments via geostationary and GPS satellites in order to check their capabilities. The dissemination of standard time and frequency signals is carried out by means of HP transmissions, coded time signals emissions and "time of the day" telephone service. The time and frequency laboratory acts also as reference laboratory for time and frequency quantities for the Italian Calibration Service (SIT) and is therefore charged of the technical tasks necessary to the approval of calibration centers. Frequency and time traceability to UTC (IEN) of standard clocks kept in other Italian scientific organizations and factories is also provided by means of daily television measurements and portable clock comparisons. Research activities have been carried on in recent years in the fields of the cesium frequency standards and of the Mg beam standard. In the former case, the influence of the Rabi pulling effect, has been theoretically evaluated and experimentally observed; in the latter case the **Me P, - 'P, Amj = transition has been observed both with a Rabi and Ramsey interaction technique.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 18th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications Meeting December 2 - 4, 1986 DuPont Plaza Hotel Washington, DC
Pages:	131 - 148
Cite this article:	Cordara, P., Pettiti, V., "TIME KEEPING AND TIME AND FREQUENCY DISSEMINATION AT THE ISTITUTO ELETTROTECNICO NAZIONALE (IEN)," Proceedings of the 18th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications Meeting, Washington, DC, December 1986, pp. 131-148.
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