Observation and Control of Spontaneous Magnon Emission from Spin Ensembles in 2D Hexagonal Boron Nitride
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Hybrid systems consisting of color centers and magnetic materials provide an appealing solid-state platform for advancing the burgeoning quantum technological revolution. Exploring novel coupling mechanisms between optically active spin defects and quantum degrees of freedom is directly relevant in this context. Here, we report observation and control of spontaneous magnon emission from boron-vacancy centers in 2D hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) to a proximal ferrimagnet in the near-zero temperature limit. The spontaneous magnon emission process is overshadowed by thermal magnon effect as temperature increases, reflecting the crossover from a spontaneous-emission-dominated magnon reservoir to a thermally occupied spin bath where absorption and stimulated processes restore balance. By increasing the spin defect density, we further present that spontaneous magnon emission into a common spin bath could help establish magnon-mediated correlations in dense hBN spin ensembles. Our results are quantitatively captured by theoretical modeling, bringing insights into understanding qubit-magnon coupling, correlated spin dynamics, and many-body physics of color centers in the quantum regime.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Office of Nuclear Energy, Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute, Idaho Operations Office, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Naval Research, Division of Materials Research, Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems
Awards: G1187630603, G127156130, Quantum Sensing of Room-temperature van der Waals Magnets for Next-Generation Quantum Spintronic Device Applications, G1658732021, G1780216949, G2839440970, G2873784832, G3252825216, G3858140716, G4824409525, G6098521345, G6293982872, Nanoscale Control of Individual Nitrogen-Vacancy Centers and Their Mutual Coupling by Magnetic Tunnel Nanojunctions, G6757593912, G6775547215, NSF-ANR QISE:Hexagonal Boron Nitride Quantum Sensors, G8344175379, G8876996369, G900781019
OpenAlex ID: W7165665520