Optical polarization of nuclear ensembles in diamond

We report polarization of a dense nuclear-spin ensemble in diamond and its dependence on magnetic field and temperature. The polarization method is based on the transfer of electron spin polarization of negatively charged nitrogen vacancy color centers to the nuclear spins via the excited-state level anti-crossing of the center. We polarize 90% of the 14N nuclear spins within the NV centers, and 70% of the proximal 13C nuclear spins with hyperfine interaction strength of 13-14 MHz. Magnetic-field dependence of the polarization reveals sharp decrease in polarization at specific field values corresponding to cross-relaxation with substitutional nitrogen centers, while temperature dependence of the polarization reveals that high polarization persists down to 50 K. This work enables polarization of the 13C in bulk diamond, which is of interest in applications of nuclear magnetic resonance, in quantum memories of hybrid quantum devices, and in sensing.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Erwin L. Hahn: A Biographical Memoir

Erwin Louis Hahn was one of the most innovative and influential physical scientists in recent history, impacting generations of scientists through his work in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), optics, and the intersection of these two fields. Starting with his discovery of the spin echo, a phenomenon of monumental significance and practical importance, Hahn launched a major revolution in how we think about spin physics, with numerous implications to follow in many other areas of science. Students of NMR and coherent optics quickly discover that many of the key concepts and techniques in these fields derive directly from his work.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures; prepared for submission to the NA

Search for ultralight scalar dark matter with atomic spectroscopy

We report new limits on ultralight scalar dark matter (DM) with dilaton-like couplings to photons that can induce oscillations in the fine-structure constant alpha. Atomic dysprosium exhibits an electronic structure with two nearly degenerate levels whose energy splitting is sensitive to changes in alpha. Spectroscopy data for two isotopes of dysprosium over a two-year span is analyzed for coherent oscillations with angular frequencies below 1 rad/s. No signal consistent with a DM coupling is identified, leading to new constraints on dilaton-like photon couplings over a wide mass range. Under the assumption that the scalar field comprises all of the DM, our limits on the coupling exceed those from equivalence-principle tests by up to 4 orders of magnitude for masses below 3 * 10^-18 eV. Excess oscillatory power, inconsistent with fine-structure variation, is detected in a control channel, and is likely due to a systematic effect. Our atomic spectroscopy limits on DM are the first of their kind, and leave substantial room for improvement with state-of-the-art atomic clocks.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures; v2: references adde

A Precessing Ferromagnetic Needle Magnetometer

A ferromagnetic needle is predicted to precess about the magnetic field axis at a Larmor frequency $\Omega$ under conditions where its intrinsic spin dominates over its rotational angular momentum, $N\hbar \gg I\Omega$ ($I$ is the moment of inertia of the needle about the precession axis and $N$ is the number of polarized spins in the needle). In this regime the needle behaves as a gyroscope with spin $N\hbar$ maintained along the easy axis of the needle by the crystalline and shape anisotropy. A precessing ferromagnetic needle is a correlated system of $N$ spins which can be used to measure magnetic fields for long times. In principle, by taking advantage of rapid averaging of quantum uncertainty, the sensitivity of a precessing needle magnetometer can far surpass that of magnetometers based on spin precession of atoms in the gas phase. Under conditions where noise from coupling to the environment is subdominant, the scaling with measurement time $t$ of the quantum- and detection-limited magnetometric sensitivity is $t^{-3/2}$. The phenomenon of ferromagnetic needle precession may be of particular interest for precision measurements testing fundamental physics.Comment: Main text: 6 pages, 2 figures; Supplementary material: 3 pages, 1 figur