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Jiang M, Huang Y, Guo C, Su H, Wang Y, Peng X, Budker D. Observation of magnetic amplification using dark spins. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2315696121. [PMID: 38640344 PMCID: PMC11047100 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2315696121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Quantum amplification enables the enhancement of weak signals and is of great importance for precision measurements, such as biomedical science and tests of fundamental symmetries. Here, we observe a previously unexplored magnetic amplification using dark noble-gas nuclear spins in the absence of pump light. Such dark spins exhibit remarkable coherence lasting up to 6 min and the resilience against the perturbations caused by overlapping alkali-metal gas. We demonstrate that the observed phenomenon, referred to as "dark spin amplification," significantly magnifies magnetic field signals by at least three orders of magnitude. As an immediate application, we showcase an ultrasensitive magnetometer capable of measuring subfemtotesla fields in a single 500-s measurement. Our approach is generic and can be applied to a wide range of noble-gas isotopes, and we discuss promising optimizations that could further improve the current signal amplification up to [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text]Ne, [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text]Xe, and [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text]He. This work unlocks opportunities in precision measurements, including searches for ultralight dark matter with sensitivity well beyond the supernova-observation constraints.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Jiang
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Microscale Magnetic Resonance and School of Physical Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei230026, China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Quantum Information and Quantum Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei230026, China
- Hefei National Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei230088, China
| | - Ying Huang
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Microscale Magnetic Resonance and School of Physical Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei230026, China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Quantum Information and Quantum Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei230026, China
- Hefei National Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei230088, China
| | - Chang Guo
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Microscale Magnetic Resonance and School of Physical Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei230026, China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Quantum Information and Quantum Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei230026, China
- Hefei National Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei230088, China
| | - Haowen Su
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Microscale Magnetic Resonance and School of Physical Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei230026, China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Quantum Information and Quantum Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei230026, China
- Hefei National Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei230088, China
| | - Yuanhong Wang
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Microscale Magnetic Resonance and School of Physical Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei230026, China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Quantum Information and Quantum Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei230026, China
- Hefei National Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei230088, China
| | - Xinhua Peng
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Microscale Magnetic Resonance and School of Physical Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei230026, China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Quantum Information and Quantum Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei230026, China
- Hefei National Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei230088, China
| | - Dmitry Budker
- Helmholtz-Institut, GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Mainz55128, Germany
- Institute for Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz55128, Germany
- Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA94720-7300
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