Coupling a single spin to the motion of a carbon nanotube
The ability to couple a solitary spin to high-frequency motion is a crucial advancement for a range of applications, including quantum sensing, intermediate and long-distance spin-spin coupling, and quantum information processing. Although proposed theoretically over a decade ago, experimental demonstrations have remained elusive. Here we report the observation of spin-mechanical coupling in a carbon nanotube device. We demonstrate this coupling in two configurations: off-resonant, with spin and mechanics excited by separate tones, and resonant, driven by a single tone. The coupling manifests as a shift and broadening of the electric dipole spin resonance (EDSR), respectively. Our theoretical model, which accounts for the tensor character of the coupling and mechanical non-linearity, reproduces the data with very good agreement. Our results demonstrate a previously unobserved spin-mechanical coupling, offering versatile tools for exploring macroscopic quantum phenomena, quantum thermodynamics, and quantum simulation.
Authors
- András Pályi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-1894-0415)
- Jonathan Dexter (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6231-4797)
- Federico Cerisola (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2961-739X)
- Natalia Ares (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2588-6322)
- J. S. Dunlop (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3708-352X)
- Janet Anders (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9791-0363)
- Léa Bresque (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1978-690X)
- Jorge Tabanera-Bravo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8706-6886)
- Federico Fedele (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4466-5576)
- Alexia Auffèves (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4682-5684)
- Juan M. R. Parrondo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8525-3709)
- Kushagra Aggarwal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9985-9293)
- Florian Vigneau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7557-4493)
- Juliette Monsel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4965-6794)
- Sofia Sevitz
Institutions
- Institut polytechnique de Grenoble (FR)
- Centre for Quantum Technologies (SG)
- Universidad Complutense de Madrid (ES)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- National University of Singapore (SG)
- University of Potsdam (DE)
- University of Exeter (GB)
- Budapest University of Technology and Economics (HU)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- UMI MajuLab (SG)
- Institut Néel (FR)
- Science Oxford (GB)
- Chalmers University of Technology (SE)
- Université Grenoble Alpes (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-12-13
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-66331-5
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Mechanical and Optical Resonators
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.25