Quantum thermalization and Floquet engineering in a spin ensemble with a clock transition

TL;DR

This paper explores quantum thermalization and Floquet engineering in a large ensemble of ytterbium-171 solid-state spins with a clock transition, demonstrating control over many-body dynamics and phases like time crystals.

Contribution

It introduces a platform using ytterbium-171 ions with a clock transition for studying long-range spin interactions and quantum phases, including thermalization and time crystals.

Findings

Observation of pure long-range dipolar XY interactions.

Dynamic engineering of Hamiltonians by tuning interaction-disorder ratio.

Realization of a time-crystalline phase through periodic driving.

Abstract

Studying and controlling quantum many-body interactions is fundamentally important for quantum science and related emerging technologies. Optically addressable solid-state spins offer a promising platform for exploring various quantum many-body phenomena due to their scalability to a large Hilbert space. However, it is often challenging to probe many-body dynamics in solid-state spin systems due to large on-site disorder and undesired coupling to the environment. Here, we investigate an optically addressable solid-state spin system comprising a strongly interacting ensemble of millions of ytterbium-171 ions in a crystal. Notably, this platform features a clock transition that gives rise to pure long-range spin-exchange interactions, termed the dipolar XY model. Leveraging this unique feature, we investigate quantum thermalization by varying the relative ratio of interaction strength to disorder, dynamically engineering the XY model into other many-body Hamiltonian models, and realizing a time-crystalline phase of matter through periodic driving. Our findings indicate that an ensemble of rare-earth ions serves as a versatile testbed for many-body physics and offers valuable insights for advancing quantum technologies.