Observation of partial coherence in an Aharonov-Bohm interferometer with a quantum dot

We report experiments on the interference through spin states of electrons in a quantum dot (QD) embedded in an Aharonov-Bohm (AB) interferometer. We have picked up a spin-pair state, for which the environmental conditions are ideally similar. The AB amplitude is traced in a range of gate voltage that covers the pair. The behavior of the asymmetry in the amplitude around the two Coulomb peaks agrees with the theoretical prediction that the spin-flip process in a QD is related to the quantum dephasing of electrons. These results constitute evidence of partial coherence due to an entanglement of spins in the QD and in the interferometer.