Unconventional quantum sound-matter interactions in spin-optomechanical-crystal hybrid systems

TL;DR

This paper predicts novel quantum acoustic phenomena in a tunable solid-state platform where spins in diamond interact with quantized acoustic waves, enabling unconventional sound-matter interactions and long-range spin coupling.

Contribution

It introduces a method to tune the mechanical band structure and induce quasi-chiral sound-matter interactions using a spatially varying laser drive in a spin-optomechanical crystal system.

Findings

Tunable quasi-chiral sound-matter interactions demonstrated.

Emergence of exotic polariton bound states within the acoustic band-gap.

Long-range, odd-neighbor, and complex spin-spin interactions mediated by polaritons.

Abstract

We predict a set of unusual quantum acoustic phenomena resulting from sound-matter interactions in a fully tunable solid-state platform, in which an array of solid-state spins in diamond are coupled to quantized acoustic waves in a one-dimensional (1D) optomechanical crystal. We find that, by a spatially varying laser drive that introduces a position-dependent phase in the optomechanical interaction, the mechanical band structure can be tuned in situ, consequently leading to unconventional quantum sound-matter interactions. We show that quasi-chiral sound-matter interactions can occur, with tunable ranges from bidirectional to quasi-unidirectional, when the spins are resonant with the bands. When the solid-state spins'frequency lies within the acoustic band-gap, we demonstrate the emergence of an exotic polariton bound state, which can mediate long-range tunable, odd-neighbor and complex spin-spin interactions. This work expands the present exploration of quantum phononics and can have wide applications in quantum simulation and quantum information processing.