Sensing Coherent Nuclear Spin Dynamics with an Ensemble of Paramagnetic Nitrogen Spins
R. M. Goldblatt, A. Martin, A. A. Wood
Abstract
The unpolarized spin environment surrounding a central spin qubit is typically considered as an incoherent source of dephasing, however, precise characterization and control of the spin bath can yield a resource for storing and sensing with quantum states. In this work, we use nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond to measure the coherence of optically dark paramagnetic nitrogen defects (P1 centers) and detect coherent interactions between the P1 centers and a local bath of <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll"><a:msup><a:mi/><a:mn>13</a:mn></a:msup><a:mrow><a:mi mathvariant="normal">C</a:mi></a:mrow></a:math> nuclear spins. The dipolar coupling between the P1 centers and <e:math xmlns:e="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll"><e:msup><e:mi/><e:mn>13</e:mn></e:msup><e:mrow><e:mi mathvariant="normal">C</e:mi></e:mrow></e:math> nuclear spins is identified by signature periodic collapses and revivals in the P1 spin coherence signal. We then demonstrate, using a range of dynamical decoupling protocols, that the probing NV centers and the P1 spins are coupled to independent ensembles of <i:math xmlns:i="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll"><i:msup><i:mi/><i:mn>13</i:mn></i:msup><i:mrow><i:mi mathvariant="normal">C</i:mi></i:mrow></i:math> nuclear spins. Our work illustrates how the optically dark P1 spins can be used to extract information from their local environment and offers new insight into the interactions within a many-body system. Published by the American Physical Society 2024