Coherent control of collective nuclear quantum states via transient magnons.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 33514541.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.abc3991 and PMC identifier 7846183.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Ultrafast and precise control of quantum systems at x-ray energies involves photons with oscillation periods below 1 as. Coherent dynamic control of quantum systems at these energies is one of the major challenges in hard x-ray quantum optics. Here, we demonstrate that the phase of a quantum system embedded in a solid can be coherently controlled via a quasi-particle with subattosecond accuracy. In particular, we tune the quantum phase of a collectively excited nuclear state via transient magnons with a precision of 1 zs and a timing stability below 50 ys. These small temporal shifts are monitored interferometrically via quantum beats between different hyperfine-split levels. The experiment demonstrates zeptosecond interferometry and shows that transient quasi-particles enable accurate control of quantum systems embedded in condensed matter environments.