Quantum spectroscopy of single spins assisted by a classical clock

TL;DR

This paper introduces a correlation spectroscopy method for quantum signals that is limited by the coherence of target spins and clock stability, enhancing quantum sensing capabilities.

Contribution

The paper proposes a new correlation spectroscopy technique for quantum signals that accounts for target spin coherence and clock stability, improving quantum sensing accuracy.

Findings

Performance limited by target spin coherence

Method improves detection of quantum signals

Clock stability impacts measurement precision

Abstract

Quantum spectroscopy with single two level systems has considerably improved our ability to detect weak signals. Recently it was realized that for classical signals, precision and resolution of quantum spectroscopy is limited mainly by coherence of the signal and stability of the clock used to measure time. The coherence time of the quantum probe, which can be significantly shorter, is not a major limiting factor in resolution measurements. Here, we address a similar question for spectroscopy of quantum signals, for example a quantum sensor is used to detect a single nuclear spin. We present and analyze a novel correlation spectroscopy technique with performance that is limited by the coherence time of the target spins and the stability of the clock.