Resolving quanta of collective spin excitations in a millimeter-sized ferromagnet

Combining different physical systems in hybrid quantum circuits opens up novel possibilities for quantum technologies. In quantum magnonics, quanta of collective excitation modes in a ferromagnet, called magnons, interact coherently with qubits to access quantum phenomena of magnonics. We use this architecture to probe the quanta of collective spin excitations in a millimeter-sized ferromagnetic crystal. More specifically, we resolve magnon number states through spectroscopic measurements of a superconducting qubit with the hybrid system in the strong dispersive regime. This enables us to detect a change in the magnetic moment of the ferromagnet equivalent to a single spin flipped among more than 10¹⁹ spins. Our demonstration highlights the strength of hybrid quantum systems to provide powerful tools for quantum sensing and quantum information processing.