Self-amplifying spin measurement in a long-lived spin-squeezed state

Using the platform of a trapped-atom clock on a chip, we have generated spin-squeezed states with up to 8.1(9) dB of metrological squeezing in a cloud of $2\times 10^4$ ultracold alkali atoms by quantum nondemolition (QND) measurement in a fiber Fabry-Perot microcavity. Observing the time evolution of the squeezed state on unprecedented timescales of more than one second reveals a surprising measurement amplification effect in the final measurement of the spin state. It results from a subtle interplay between the spin dynamics of interacting indistinguishable particles and energy-dependent cavity coupling and leads to an increased cavity shift per spin, and thus to a higher signal per photon read out. Metrological spin squeezing is preserved for 1 s. Both results open up encouraging perspectives for squeezing-enhanced atomic clocks in a metrologically relevant stability regime.