The Allan variance in the presence of a compound Poisson process modelling clock frequency jumps

Atomic clocks can be affected by frequency jumps occurring at random times and with a random amplitude. The frequency jumps degrade the clock stability and this is captured by the Allan variance. In this work we assume that the random jumps can be modelled by a compound Poisson process, independent of the other stochastic and deterministic processes affecting the clock stability. Then, we derive the analytical expression of the Allan variance of a jumping clock. We find that the analytical Allan variance does not depend on the actual shape of the jumps amplitude distribution, but only on its first and second moments, and its final form is the same as for a clock with a random walk of frequency and a frequency drift. We conclude that the Allan variance cannot distinguish between a compound Poisson process and a Wiener process, hence it may not be sufficient to correctly identify the fundamental noise processes affecting a clock. The result is general and applicable to any oscillator, whose frequency is affected by a jump process with the described statistics.