Gabriel Hétet
LPENS, ENS Paris
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Spin-Mechanics with a trapped particle
Abstract: Controlling the motion of trapped macroscopic particles in the quantum regime has been the subject of intense research in recent decades. Especially noteworthy is the recent milestone of achieving ground state cooling for a trapped particle [1]. However, the generation of purely non Gaussian states such as the first phonon Fock state or Schrödinger cat states, is required for further quantum control as well as for realizing quantum interference. One approach is to transfer the quantumness of a well-controlled two-level system to the mechanical degree of freedom, which can be realized by coupling trapped crystals with embedded spins using magnetic fields.
The coherence time of the spin system stands as a critical factor for this application in particular for the preservation of Schrödinger cat states, which is still a significant challenge in the field of levitodynamics.
We will show our progress towards this goal using a Paul trap hosting electronic spins of NV centers in diamonds [2]. We will also show recent results on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) within a levitating micro-diamond (see Fig. 1a). Specifically, we employ the nuclear spins of nitrogen-14 atoms, offering coherence times up to hundreds of microseconds (see Fig. 1b). This represents the longest coherence time recorded for a controlled two-level system in a levitated particle, surpassing the previously measured coherence time in electronic spins by three orders of magnitude [2,3].
[1] U. Delic, M. Reisenbauer, K. Dare, D. Grass, V. Vuletic, N. Kiesel, and M. Aspelmeyer, Cooling of a levitated nanoparticle to the motional quantum ground state, Science 367, 892 (2020).
[2] T. Delord and et al., Spin-cooling of the motion of a trapped diamond, Nature 580, 56 (2020).
[3] J. Voisin, T. Copie, A. Durand, M. Perdriat and G. Hétet, Nuclear magnetic resonance with a levitating micro-particle, to appear in PRL.
