Floquet Prethermalization with Lifetime Exceeding 90 s in a Bulk Hyperpolarized Solid

We report the observation of long-lived Floquet prethermal states in a bulk solid composed of dipolar-coupled C-13 nuclei in diamond at room temperature. For precessing nuclear spins prepared in an initial transverse state, we demonstrate pulsed spin-lock Floquet control that prevents their decay over multiple-minute-long periods. We observe Floquet prethermal lifetimes T'(2) approximate to 90.9 s, extended > 60 000-fold over the nuclear free induction decay times. The spins themselves are continuously interrogated for similar to 10 min, corresponding to the application of approximate to 5.8 x 10(6) control pulses. The C-13 nuclei are optically hyperpolarized by lattice nitrogen vacancy centers; the combination of hyperpolarization and continuous spin readout yields significant signal-to-noise ratio in the measurements. This allows probing the Floquet thermalization dynamics with unprecedented clarity. We identify four characteristic regimes of the thermalization process, discerning short-time transient processes leading to the prethermal plateau and long-time system heating toward infinite temperature. This Letter points to new opportunities possible via Floquet control in networks of dilute, randomly distributed, low-sensitivity nuclei. In particular, the combination of minutes-long prethermal lifetimes and continuous spin interrogation opens avenues for quantum sensors constructed from hyperpolarized Floquet prethermal nuclei.

Automated summary

This study reported the observation of long-lived Floquet prethermal states in a bulk solid composed of C-13 nuclei in diamond at room temperature, demonstrating the potential for quantum sensors constructed from hyperpolarized Floquet prethermal nuclei. The combination of continuous spin interrogation and hyperpolarization provides significant signal-to-noise ratio for clear detection of thermalization dynamics in the system.