Proposal for Observing Dynamic Jahn-Teller Effect of Single Solid-State Defects

TL;DR

This paper proposes a method to observe the dynamic Jahn-Teller effect in single solid-state defects using quantum sensors, specifically by monitoring spin coherence in NV centers to detect real-time quantum jumps.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach employing NV centers and DEER technique to detect dynamic Jahn-Teller effects at the single-defect level in solids.

Findings

Numerical simulations demonstrate real-time monitoring of quantum jumps.

The method enables sensing of electron-vibrational interactions in solid-state defects.

Abstract

Jahn-Teller effect (JTE) widely exists in polyatomic systems including organic molecules, nano-magnets, and solid-state defects. Detecting the JTE at single-molecule level can provide unique properties about the detected individual object. However, such measurements are challenging because of the weak signals associated with a single quantum object. Here, we propose that the dynamic JTE of single defects in solids can be observed with nearby quantum sensors. With numerical simulations, we demonstrate the real-time monitoring of quantum jumps between different stable configurations of single substitutional nitrogen defect centers (P1 centers) in diamond. This is achieved by measuring the spin coherence of a single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center near the P1 center with the double electron-electron resonance (DEER) technique. Our work extends the ability of NV center as a quantum probe to sense the rich physics in various electron-vibrational coupled systems.