Steering of national time scale UTC(KZ) based on passive hydrogen masers using Rapid UTC data

An important characteristic of a national time scale is its deviation from the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) scale. The emergence of the Rapid Coordinated Universal Time scale (UTCr) offers the potential to form national time scales that closely follow UTC with high accuracy. Information on the deviations of national time scales in Rapid UTC is updated weekly. In this case, it becomes possible to use more cost-effective atomic clocks with greater frequency instability compared to the active hydrogen masers currently employed in leading timekeeping metrology laboratories. The feasibility of using the Rapid Coordinated Universal Time scale (UTCr) to implement a national time scale based on passive hydrogen masers with high UTC tracking accuracy is demonstrated using the example of the national Coordinated Universal Time scale of Kazakhstan, UTC(KZ). The results of the automatic steering system for the UTC(KZ) time scale based on the Rapid UTC data, published by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, are presented. The steering algorithm is described, and its parameters are justifi ed. It is shown that a time scale based on passive hydrogen masers, with weekly corrections from Rapid UTC data, achieves a root mean square error (RMSE) of 2.5 ns and a maximum deviation of less than 8 ns over a two-year observation period.

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