Optical Detection of Coherent Nuclear Spin Control in a Molecular System at Room Temperature
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Molecular systems with optically addressable electron spins are emerging as versatile quantum sensing platforms, offering tunable qubit properties and molecular-scale spatial control. Owing to their longer lifetimes, coupled nuclear spins provide an attractive resource for enhancing sensing performance. For molecular spin systems, the ability to initialise, coherently control and readout nuclear spins at room temperature is crucial for realising such benefits. Here, we present the first optical detection of nuclear magnetic resonance and coherent nuclear spin control with a molecular system at room temperature. Specifically, we demonstrate optically detected Rabi oscillations of $^{14}$N nuclear spins in the photoexcited triplet state of the organic chromophore 6,13-diazapentacene. The strong hyperfine coupling between the electronic spin and $^{14}$N nuclei enhances the nuclear Rabi frequency, enabling fast coherent nuclear-spin rotations. This work lays the foundation for leveraging nuclear spins as memories for enhanced molecular-based quantum sensing.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Institutions: University of Glasgow, Imperial College London
Language: English
Subfield: Spectroscopy
Field: Chemistry
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: UK Research and Innovation
Award: G5805599973
OpenAlex ID: W7221820777