Electron Induced Nanoscale Nuclear Spin Relaxation Probed by Hyperpolarization Injection

We report on experiments that quantify the role of a central electronic spin as a relaxation source for nuclear spins in its nanoscale environment. Our strategy exploits hyperpolarization injection from the electron as a means to controllably probe an increasing number of nuclear spins in the bath and subsequently interrogate them with high fidelity. Our experiments are focused on a model system of a nitrogen vacancy center electronic spin surrounded by several hundred ^{13}C nuclear spins. We observe that the ^{13}C transverse spin relaxation times vary significantly with the extent of hyperpolarization injection, allowing the ability to measure the influence of electron-mediated relaxation extending over several nanometers. These results suggest interesting new means to spatially discriminate nuclear spins in a nanoscale environment and have direct relevance to dynamic nuclear polarization and quantum sensors and memories constructed from hyperpolarized nuclei.