Quantum control and Berry phase of electron spins in rotating levitated diamonds in high vacuum

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates quantum control and observation of Berry phase effects in electron spins within levitated nanodiamonds rotating at high speeds in high vacuum, enabling advanced studies of quantum mechanics and precision sensing.

Contribution

It introduces an integrated surface ion trap for stable levitation and optical detection of nanodiamonds in high vacuum, and achieves high-speed rotation surpassing NV spin dephasing rates, facilitating quantum control and Berry phase observation.

Findings

Achieved nanodiamond rotation up to 20 MHz (1.2 billion rpm).

First optically detected magnetic resonance of levitated nanodiamond in high vacuum.

Observed Berry phase effects due to particle rotation.

Abstract

Levitated diamond particles in high vacuum with internal spin qubits have been proposed for exploring macroscopic quantum mechanics, quantum gravity, and precision measurements. The coupling between spins and particle rotation can be utilized to study quantum geometric phase, create gyroscopes and rotational matter-wave interferometers. However, previous efforts in levitated diamonds struggled with vacuum level or spin state readouts. To address these gaps, we fabricate an integrated surface ion trap with multiple stabilization electrodes. This facilitates on-chip levitation and, for the first time, optically detected magnetic resonance measurements of a nanodiamond levitated in high vacuum. The internal temperature of our levitated nanodiamond remains moderate below $10^{-5}$ Torr. Impressively, we have driven a nanodiamond to rotate up to 20 MHz ($1.2 \times 10^{9}$ rpm), surpassing typical nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center electron spin dephasing rates. Using these NV spins, we observe the effect of the Berry phase arising from particle rotation. In addition, we demonstrate quantum control of spins in a rotating nanodiamond. These results mark an important development in interfacing mechanical rotation with spin qubits, expanding our capacity to study quantum phenomena.