Magnetic-field-induced delocalization in hybrid electron-nuclear spin ensembles

Abstract

We use field-cycling-assisted dynamic nuclear polarization and continuous radio-frequency (RF) driving over a broad spectral range to demonstrate magnetic-field-dependent activation of nuclear spin transport from strongly-hyperfine-coupled 13C sites in diamond. We interpret our observations with the help of a theoretical framework where nuclear spin interactions are mediated by electron spins. In particular, we build on the results from a 4-spin toy model to show how otherwise localized nuclear spins must thermalize as they are brought in contact with a larger ancilla spin network. Further, by probing the system response to a variable driving field amplitude, we witness stark changes in the RF-absorption spectrum, which we interpret as partly due to contributions from heterogeneous multi-spin sets, whose 'zero-quantum' transitions become RF active thanks to the hybrid electron-nuclear nature of the system. These findings could prove relevant in applications to dynamic nuclear polarization, spin-based quantum information processing, and nanoscale sensing.

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• Thermalization and many-body localization in systems under dynamic nuclear polarization
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• Optically pumped spin polarization as a probe of many-body thermalization

Cited by in corpus (6)

• The role of electron polarization on nuclear spin diffusion
• Electron-to-nuclear spectral mapping via "Galton board" dynamic nuclear polarization
• Microwave-free dynamic nuclear polarization via sudden thermal jumps
• Nuclear spin temperature reversal via continuous radio-frequency driving
• Dynamic-nuclear-polarization-weighted spectroscopy of multi-spin electronic-nuclear clusters
• One-directional polarization transport in electron/nuclear spin chains with loss and gain