Application of the Dynamic Allan Variance for the Characterization of Space Clock Behavior

Abstract

Due to their stability atomic clocks represent the core of navigation systems such as GPS and the future European Galileo system. To identify possible anomalies, it is fundamental to detect when the clock stability varies with time. The dynamic Allan variance (DAVAR) makes this monitoring process possible. We extend the DAVAR to the case of a time series with missing data, and we analyze the presence of periodic behaviors, two common phenomena in space clocks.