Abstract
Control over quantum dynamics of open systems is one of the central challenges in quantum science and engineering. Coherent optical techniques, such as coherent population trapping involving dark resonances1,2, are widely used to control quantum states of isolated atoms and ions. In conjunction with spontaneous emission, they allow for laser cooling of atomic motion3, preparation and manipulation of atomic states4, and rapid quantum optical measurements that are essential for applications in metrology5,6,7. Here we show that these techniques can be applied to monitor and control individual atom-like impurities, and their local environment8,9,10,11, in the solid state. Using all-optical manipulation of the electronic spin of an individual nitrogen–vacancy colour centre in diamond, we demonstrate optical cooling, real-time measurement and conditional preparation of its nuclear spin environment by post-selection. These methods offer potential applications ranging from all-optical nanomagnetometry to quantum feedback control of solid-state qubits, and may lead to new approaches for quantum information storage and processing
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Acknowledgements
We thank A. Aspect, J. I. Cirac, G. Giedke, M. Gullans, J. Hodges, M. Issler, V. Jacques, F. Jelezko, E. Kessler, A. Kubanek, J. McArthur, A. Pick, A. Sipahigil, J. Taylor, S. Yelin and A. S. Zibrov for discussions and experimental help. This work was supported by the NSF, NSF-funded CUA, DARPA (QUEST and QUASAR programmes), ARO MURI, the NDSEG Fellowship, the Packard Foundation and an ERC Advanced Investigator Grant. The content of this paper does not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the US government, and no official endorsements should be inferred.
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This file contains Supplementary Text, which includes Supplementary Experimental details, Supplementary Data and a Supplementary Discussion; Supplementary Figures 1-10 with legends and additional references. (PDF 1080 kb)
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Togan, E., Chu, Y., Imamoglu, A. et al. Laser cooling and real-time measurement of the nuclear spin environment of a solid-state qubit. Nature 478, 497–501 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10528
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10528
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