An Improved Method of Measuring the Zeeman Shift in Cesium Beam Frequency Standards

An improved method of measuring the Zeeman shift in cesium beam frequency standards is proposed to meet recent accuracy requirements. The method utilizes the frequency separation of a pair of σ transitions with the same absolute value of magnetic quantum number, and has some advantages in comparison with conventional methods. One of these is the linear relation between the measured frequency and the C field strength. In particular, the mean frequency of the pair of σ transitions is shown to be useful for investigating measurement errors. Experimental results are also presented to check the quantitative relation against conventional methods.