We utilize nanoscale spin valves with Pt spacer layers to characterize spin relaxation in Pt. Analysis of the spin lifetime indicates that Elliott-Yafet spin scattering is dominant at room temperature, but an unexpected intrinsic Dyakonov-Perel-like spin relaxation becomes dominant at cryogenic temperatures. We also observe suppression of spin relaxation in a Pt layer interfaced with a ferromagnet, likely caused by the competition between the effective exchange and spin-orbit fields.

The engineering of quantum systems and their environments has led to our ability now to design composite or complex systems with the properties one desires. In fact, this allows us to couple two or more distinct systems to the same environment where potentially unusual behavior and dynamics can be exhibited. In this Letter we investigate the relaxation of two giant spins or collective spin ensembles individually coupled to the same reservoir. We find that, depending on the configuration of the two individual spin ensembles, the steady state of the composite system does not necessarily reach the ground state of the individual systems, unlike what one would expect for independent environments. Further, when the size of one individual spin ensemble is much larger than the second, collective relaxation can drive the second system to an excited steady state even when it starts in the ground state; that is, the second spin ensemble relaxes towards a negative-temperature steady state.

It was recently demonstrated that bulk nuclear polarization can be obtained using nitrogen vacancy (NV) color centers in diamonds, even at ambient conditions. This is based on the optical polarization of the NV electron spin, and using several polarization transfer methods. One such method is the nuclear orientation via electron spin locking (NOVEL) sequence, where a spin-locked sequence is applied on the NV spin, with a microwave power equal to the nuclear precession frequency. This was performed at relatively high fields, to allow for both polarization transfer and noise decoupling. As a result, this scheme requires accurate magnetic field alignment in order preserve the NV properties. Such a requirement may be undesired or impractical in many practical scenarios. Here we present a new sequence, termed the refocused NOVEL, which can be used for polarization transfer (and detection) even at low fields. Numerical simulations are performed, taking into account both the spin Hamiltonian and spin decoherence, and we show that, under realistic parameters, it can outperform the NOVEL sequence.

The spectral theorem of von Neumann has been widely applied in various areas, such as the characteristic spectral lines of atoms. It has been recently proposed that dynamical evolution also possesses spectral lines. As the most intrinsic property of evolution, the behavior of these spectra can, in principle, exhibit almost every feature of this evolution, among which the most attractive topic is non-Markovianity, i.e., the memory effects during evolution. Here, we develop a method to detect these spectra, and moreover, we experimentally examine the relation between the spectral behavior and non-Markovianity by engineering the environment to prepare dynamical maps with different non-Markovian properties and then detecting the dynamical behavior of the spectral values. These spectra will lead to a witness for essential non-Markovianity. We also experimentally verify another simplified witness method for essential non-Markovianity. Interestingly, in both cases, we observe the sudden transition from essential non-Markovianity to something else. Our work shows the role of the spectra of evolution in the studies of non-Makovianity and provides the alternative methods to characterize non-Markovian behavior.

A quasicrystal is a class of ordered structures defying conventional classification of solid crystals and may carry classically forbidden (e.g., fivefold) rotational symmetries. In view of long-sought supersolids, a natural question is whether a superfluid can spontaneously form quasicrystalline order that is not possessed by the underlying Hamiltonian, forming “superfluid-quasicrystals.” Here we show that a superfluid-quasicrystal stripe state with the minimal fivefold rotational symmetry can be realized as the ground state of a Bose-Einstein condensate within a practical experimental scheme. There exists a rich phase diagram consisting of various superfluid-quasicrystal, supersolid, and plane-wave phases. Our scheme can be generalized for generating other higher-order (e.g., sevenfold) quasicrystal states, and provides a platform for investigating such new exotic quantum matter.

Entanglement of high-dimensional quantum systems has become increasingly important for quantum communication and experimental tests of nonlocality. However, many effects of high-dimensional entanglement can be simulated by using multiple copies of low-dimensional systems. We present a general theory to characterize those high-dimensional quantum states for which the correlations cannot simply be simulated by low-dimensional systems. Our approach leads to general criteria for detecting multilevel entanglement in multiparticle quantum states, which can be used to verify these phenomena experimentally.

In this Letter we show that communication when restricted to a single information carrier (i.e., single particle) and finite speed of propagation is fundamentally limited for classical systems. On the other hand, quantum systems can surpass this limitation. We show that communication bounded to the exchange of a single quantum particle (in superposition of different spatial locations) can result in “two-way signaling,” which is impossible in classical physics. We quantify the discrepancy between classical and quantum scenarios by the probability of winning a game played by distant players. We generalize our result to an arbitrary number of parties and we show that the probability of success is asymptotically decreasing to zero as the number of parties grows, for all classical strategies. In contrast, quantum strategy allows players to win the game with certainty.

We consider the dynamics of a system of free fermions on a 1D lattice in the presence of a defect moving at constant velocity. The defect has the form of a localized time-dependent variation of the chemical potential and induces at long times a nonequilibrium steady state (NESS), which spreads around the defect. We present a general formulation that allows recasting the time-dependent protocol in a scattering problem on a static potential. We obtain a complete characterization of the NESS. In particular, we show a strong dependence on the defect velocity and the existence of a sharp threshold when such velocity exceeds the speed of sound. Beyond this value, the NESS is not produced and, remarkably, the defect travels without significantly perturbing the system. We present an exact solution for a $\delta$-like defect traveling with an arbitrary velocity and we develop a semiclassical approximation that provides accurate results for smooth defects.

We have used the Arecibo Telescope to carry out one of the deepest-ever integrations in radio astronomy, targeting the redshifted conjugate satellite OH 18 cm lines at $z\approx 0.247$ towards PKS $1413+135$. The satellite OH 1720 and 1612 MHz lines are, respectively, in emission and absorption, with exactly the same line shapes due to population inversion in the OH ground state levels. Since the 1720 and 1612 MHz line rest frequencies have different dependences on the fine structure constant $\alpha$ and the proton-electron mass ratio $\mu$, a comparison between their measured redshifts allows one to probe changes in $\alpha$ and $\mu$ with cosmological time. In the case of conjugate satellite OH 18 cm lines, the predicted perfect cancellation of the sum of the line optical depths provides a strong test for the presence of systematic effects that might limit their use in probing fundamental constant evolution. A nonparametric analysis of our new Arecibo data yields $[\mathrm{\Delta }X/X]=(+0.97\pm 1.52)\times {10}^{-6}$, where $X\equiv \mu {\alpha }^2$. Combining this with our earlier results from the Arecibo Telescope and the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope, we obtain $[\mathrm{\Delta }X/X]=(-1.0\pm 1.3)\times {10}^{-6}$, consistent with no changes in the quantity $\mu {\alpha }^2$ over the last 2.9 Gyr. This is the most stringent present constraint on fractional changes in $\mu {\alpha }^2$ from astronomical spectroscopy, and with no evidence for systematic effects.

We measured the $g_1$ spin structure function of the deuteron at low $Q^2$, where QCD can be approximated with chiral perturbation theory ($\chi \mathrm{PT}$). The data cover the resonance region, up to an invariant mass of $W\approx 1.9\mathrm{GeV}$. The generalized Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn sum, the moment ${\mathrm{\Gamma }}_1^d$ and the spin polarizability ${\gamma }_0^d$ are precisely determined down to a minimum $Q^2$ of $0.02{\mathrm{GeV}}^2$ for the first time, about 2.5 times lower than that of previous data. We compare them to several $\chi \mathrm{PT}$ calculations and models. These results are the first in a program of benchmark measurements of polarization observables in the $\chi \mathrm{PT}$ domain.

Using Triumf’s neutral atom trap, Trinat, for nuclear $\beta$ decay, we have measured the $\beta$ asymmetry with respect to the initial nuclear spin in ${}^{37}\mathrm{K}$ to be $A_{\beta }=-0.5707{(13)}_{\mathrm{syst}}{(13)}_{\mathrm{stat}}{(5)}_{\mathrm{pol}}$, a 0.3% measurement. This is the best relative accuracy of any $\beta$-asymmetry measurement in a nucleus or the neutron, and is in agreement with the standard model prediction $-0.5706(7)$. We compare constraints on physics beyond the standard model with other $\beta$-decay measurements, and improve the value of $V_{\mathrm{ud}}$ measured in this mirror nucleus by a factor of 4.

We report the observation of a controlled Landau-Zener transition (LZT) in Rydberg atoms by breaking the symmetry of the underlying Hamiltonian. For a nonhydrogenic Rydberg atom inside a changing electric ($F$) field, a LZT occurs between the avoided crossing energy levels of neighboring Rydberg states only for a sufficiently high changing rate. If a transverse magnetic ($B$) field is applied as we implement, the atomic level symmetry is broken, which causes the Stark manifolds denoted by a different $|m|$ ($m$ is the magnetic quantum number) to interact with each other. The mixed state levels end up pushing the adiabatically repelled target states closer and additionally they serve as stepping stones for the sequential LZTs between the neighboring sublevels. Such a feature significantly decreases the changing rate required for an efficient LZT inside a pure electric field. We report experimental observations that support the above scenario. It opens a versatile approach for engineering a controlled LZT in more general systems.

We address the problem of the lattice Stark shifts in the Sr clock caused by the multipolar $M1$ and $E2$ atom-field interactions and by the term nonlinear in lattice intensity and determined by the hyperpolarizability. We develop an approach to calculate hyperpolarizabilities for atoms and ions based on a solution of the inhomogeneous equation which allows us to effectively and accurately carry out complete summations over intermediate states. We apply our method to the calculation of the hyperpolarizabilities for the clock states in Sr. We also carry out an accurate calculation of the multipolar polarizabilities for these states at the magic frequency. Understanding these Stark shifts in optical lattice clocks is crucial for further improvement of the clock accuracy.

Classical engines turn thermal resources into work, which is maximized for reversible operations. The quantum realm has expanded the range of useful operations beyond energy conversion, and incoherent resources beyond thermal reservoirs. This is the case of entanglement generation in a driven-dissipative protocol, which we hereby analyze as a continuous quantum machine. We show that for such machines the more irreversible the process, the larger the concurrence. Maximal concurrence and entropy production are reached for the hot reservoir being at negative effective temperature, beating the limits set by classic thermal operations on an equivalent system.

We consider a hybrid quantum many-body system formed by a vibrational mode of a nanomembrane, which interacts optomechanically with light in a cavity, and an ultracold atom gas in the optical lattice of the out-coupled light. The adiabatic elimination of the light field yields an effective Hamiltonian which reveals a competition between the force localizing the atoms and the membrane displacement. At a critical atom-membrane interaction, we find a nonequilibrium quantum phase transition from a localized symmetric state of the atom cloud to a shifted symmetry-broken state, the energy of the lowest collective excitation vanishes, and a strong atom-membrane entanglement arises. The effect occurs when the atoms and the membrane are nonresonantly coupled.