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Noise-enabled transparency in optically pumped atomic magnetometers

Xu-Xing Geng1,2, Zhao-Yuan Liu1, Ming Xue1, Kai Jin1, Wang-Wang Tang1, Guoqing Yang3, Shao-Ping Wu1, Guang-Ming Huang1,*, and Gao-Xiang Li1,†

  • *Contact author: gmhuang@ccnu.edu.cn
  • †Contact author: gaox@ccnu.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. Applied 25, 034078 – Published 25 March, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/pbwy-lfkc

Abstract

Non-Gaussian low-frequency noise, such as random telegraph noise (RTN), is widely present in quantum sensing systems and is usually regarded as the main perturbation limiting sensitivity and stability. However, whether it can be transformed into a usable spectroscopic resource still lacks systematic experimental verification. We demonstrate Ξ- and Λ-type noise-induced transparency (NIT) effects in an optically pumped atomic magnetometer coupled to non-Gaussian RTN reservoirs, showing that NIT arises from interference between stochastic transition channels in spins, both theoretically and experimentally. In the Ξ-type configuration, the spectral splitting driven by RTN exhibits a significant change in the transparency window, and the relationship between dynamic criticality and observable spectral structure is elucidated by the correlation between the Liouvillian exceptional point and the resolvable spectral-splitting threshold. In the Λ-type configuration, the interference effect of amplitude-dependent noise enables the transparency effect to be stably manifested under weak noise, providing a calibrable noise-amplitude readout mechanism. These results extend magnetometer spectra from noise suppression to probing noise with noise, providing a new approach for non-Gaussian noise measurement and adaptive background-noise sensing.

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Phys. Rev. Applied 25, 034078– Published 25 March, 2026
  • Received 20 November 2024
  • Revised 11 February 2026
  • Accepted 2 March 2026
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