Ultrasensitive atomic comagnetometer with enhanced nuclear spin coherence
Abstract
Achieving high energy resolution in spin systems is important for fundamental physics research and precision measurements, with alkali-noble-gas comagnetometers being among the best available sensors. We found a new relaxation mechanism in such devices, the gradient of the Fermi-contact-interaction field that dominates the relaxation of hyperpolarized nuclear spins. We report on precise control over spin distribution, demonstrating a tenfold increase of nuclear spin hyperpolarization and transverse coherence time with optimal hybrid optical pumping. Operating in the self-compensation regime, our Ne-Rb-K comagnetometer achieves an ultrahigh inertial rotation sensitivity of \,rad/s/Hz in the frequency range from 0.2 to 1.0 Hz, which is equivalent to the energy resolution of \,eV/Hz. We propose to use this comagnetometer to search for exotic spin-dependent interactions involving proton and neutron spins. The projected sensitivity surpasses the previous experimental and astrophysical limits by more than four orders of magnitude.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2210.09027,
title = {Ultrasensitive atomic comagnetometer with enhanced nuclear spin coherence},
author = {Kai Wei and Tian Zhao and Xiujie Fang and Zitong Xu and Chang Liu and Qian Cao and Arne Wickenbrock and Yanhui Hu and Wei Ji and Dmitry Budker},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2210.09027},
year = {2023}
}