Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 21, 2026

Gradient Echo Quantum Memory in Warm Atomic Vapor
Published on: November 11, 2013
Controllable effects of quantum fluctuations on spin free-induction decay at room temperature
Gang-Qin Liu1, Xin-Yu Pan, Zhan-Feng Jiang
1Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
Abstract:
Fluctuations of local fields cause decoherence of quantum objects. Usually at high temperatures, thermal noises are much stronger than quantum fluctuations unless the thermal effects are suppressed by certain techniques such as spin echo. Here we report the discovery of strong quantum-fluctuation effects of nuclear spin baths on free-induction decay of single electron spins in solids at room temperature. We find that the competition between the quantum and thermal fluctuations is controllable by an external magnetic field. These findings are based on Ramsey interference measurement of single nitrogen-vacancy center spins in diamond and numerical simulation of the decoherence, which are in excellent agreement.
Related Concept Videos
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Overview
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Spin State Population Distribution
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Relaxation Processes
Atomic Nuclei: Types of Nuclear Relaxation
In spin–lattice or longitudinal relaxation, the excited spins exchange energy with the surrounding lattice as they return to the lower energy level. Among several mechanisms that contribute to spin–lattice relaxation, magnetic dipolar interactions are significant. Here, the excited nucleus transfers energy to a nearby...
NMR Spectrometers: Resolution and Error Correction
NMR Spectroscopy: Spin–Spin Coupling
