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Uncovering many-body correlations in nanoscale nuclear spin baths by central spin decoherence
Wen-Long Ma1, Gary Wolfowicz2, Nan Zhao3
11] State Key Laboratory of Superlattices and Microstructures, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, China [2] Department of Physics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China [3] Synergetic Innovation Center of Quantum Information and Quantum Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China.
Abstract:
Central spin decoherence caused by nuclear spin baths is often a critical issue in various quantum computing schemes, and it has also been used for sensing single-nuclear spins. Recent theoretical studies suggest that central spin decoherence can act as a probe of many-body physics in spin baths; however, identification and detection of many-body correlations of nuclear spins in nanoscale systems are highly challenging. Here, taking a phosphorus donor electron spin in a (29)Si nuclear spin bath as our model system, we discover both theoretically and experimentally that many-body correlations in nanoscale nuclear spin baths produce identifiable signatures in decoherence of the central spin under multiple-pulse dynamical decoupling control. We demonstrate that under control by an odd or even number of pulses, the central spin decoherence is principally caused by second- or fourth-order nuclear spin correlations, respectively. This study marks an important step toward studying many-body physics using spin qubits.
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