Mesoscopic Spin Coherence in a Disordered Dark Electron Spin Ensemble

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the creation of a coherent mesoscopic spin state in a disordered ensemble of P1 centers in diamond, using an iterative polarization transfer protocol, with implications for quantum sensing and simulation.

Contribution

It introduces a method to coherently control and observe a mesoscopic dark electron spin ensemble in disordered diamond, revealing long-lived coherence and disorder effects.

Findings

740-fold polarization enhancement over thermal equilibrium

Observation of collective Rabi oscillations and long-lived coherences

Identification of a saturation polarization crossover due to disorder

Abstract

Harnessing dipolar spin environments as controllable quantum resources is a central challenge in solid-state quantum technologies. Here, we report the observation of a coherent mesoscopic spin state in a disordered ensemble of substitutional nitrogen (P1) centers in diamond. An iterative Hartmann-Hahn protocol transfers polarization from dense nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers to a P1 ensemble, yielding a 740-fold enhancement over room-temperature thermal equilibrium as revealed by differential readout. The resulting mesoscopic P1 spin ensemble exhibits collective Rabi oscillations and long-lived spin-lock and Hahn-echo coherences. We identify a crossover in the saturation polarization arising from the competition between coherent driving and local disorder, providing a quantitative measure of the system's intrinsic disorder. These results establish a foundation for utilizing dark electron spin ensembles as robust resources for quantum sensing and quantum many-body simulation.