The nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond re-visited

TL;DR

This paper revisits the nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond, presenting a symmetry-based electronic structure model that explains spin polarization, emission changes, and transient emission, with updated rate constants.

Contribution

It introduces a new symmetry-based model of the NV center's electronic structure that accounts for observed optical and spin phenomena, updating previous rate constants.

Findings

Explains optically induced spin polarization.

Accounts for emission level changes with spin polarization.

Provides new measurements of transient emission.

Abstract

Symmetry considerations are used in presenting a model of the electronic structure and the associated dynamics of the nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond. The model accounts for the occurrence of optically induced spin polarization, for the change of emission level with spin polarization and for new measurements of transient emission. The rate constants given are in variance to those reported previously.