Person:

Dutt, M

We investigate the coherence properties of individual nuclear spin quantum bits in diamond [Dutt et al., Science, 316, 1312 (2007)] when a proximal electronic spin associated with a nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center is being interrogated by optical radiation. The resulting nuclear spin dynamics are governed by time-dependent hyperfine interaction associated with rapid electronic transitions, which can be described by a spin-fluctuator model. We show that due to a process analogous to motional averaging in nuclear magnetic resonance, the nuclear spin coherence can be preserved after a large number of optical excitation cycles. Our theoretical analysis is in good agreement with experimental results. It indicates a novel approach that could potentially isolate the nuclear spin system completely from the electronic environment.

We describe a technique that enables a strong coherent coupling between a single electronic spin qubit associated with a nitrogen-vacancy impurity in diamond and the quantized motion of a magnetized nanomechanical resonator tip. This coupling is achieved via careful preparation of dressed spin states which are highly sensitive to the motion of the resonator but insensitive to perturbations from the nuclear-spin bath. In combination with optical pumping techniques, the coherent exchange between spin and motional excitations enables ground-state cooling and controlled generation of arbitrary quantum superpositions of resonator states Optical spin readout techniques provide a general measurement toolbox for the resonator with quantum limited precision.