2023/11/15 by H. P. Bartling, N. Demetriou, Bartling, H. P. +17 · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Electron Microscopy Techniques and Applications #Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research #FOS: Physical sciences #Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall) #Quantum Physics (quant-ph) #Quantum and electron transport phenomena
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2311.10110
openalex publication_date 2023/11/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The decoherence of a central electron spin due to the dynamics of a coupled electron-spin bath is a core problem in solid-state spin physics. Ensemble experiments have studied the central spin coherence in detail, but such experiments average out the underlying quantum dynamics of the bath. Here, we show the coherent back-action of an individual NV center on an electron-spin bath and use it to detect, prepare and control the dynamics of a pair of bath spins. We image the NV-pair system with sub-nanometer resolution and reveal a long dephasing time (T2^* = 44(9) ms) for a qubit encoded in the electron-spin pair. Our experiment reveals the microscopic quantum dynamics that underlie the central spin decoherence and provides new opportunities for controlling and sensing interacting spin systems.