Roadmap on nanoscale magnetic resonance imaging.

The field of nanoscale magnetic resonance imaging (NanoMRI) was started 30 years ago. It was motivated by the desire to image single molecules and molecular assemblies, such as proteins and virus particles, with near-atomic spatial resolution and on a length scale of 100 nm. Over the years, the NanoMRI field has also expanded to include the goal of useful high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy of molecules under ambient conditions, including samples up to the micron-scale.

GALILEO: Galactic Axion Laser Interferometer Leveraging Electro-Optics.

We propose a novel experimental method for probing light dark matter candidates. We show that an electro-optical material's refractive index is modified in the presence of a coherently oscillating dark matter background. A high-precision resonant Michelson interferometer can be used to read out this signal.

Quantum Logic Enhanced Sensing in Solid-State Spin Ensembles.

We demonstrate quantum logic enhanced sensitivity for a macroscopic ensemble of solid-state, hybrid two-qubit sensors. We achieve over a factor of 30 improvement in the single-shot signal-to-noise ratio, translating to an ac magnetic field sensitivity enhancement exceeding an order of magnitude for time-averaged measurements. Using the electronic spins of nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond as sensors, we leverage the on-site nitrogen nuclear spins of the NV centers as memory qubits, in combination with homogeneous and stable bias and control fields, ensuring that all of the ∼10^{9} two-qubit sensors are sufficiently identical to permit global control of the NV ensemble spin states.

Quantum sensors for biomedical applications.

Quantum sensors are finding their way from laboratories to the real world, as witnessed by the increasing number of start-ups in this field. The atomic length scale of quantum sensors and their coherence properties enable unprecedented spatial resolution and sensitivity. Biomedical applications could benefit from these quantum technologies, but it is often difficult to evaluate the potential impact of the techniques.

NMR of P nuclear spin singlet states in organic diphosphates.

P NMR and MRI are commonly used to study organophosphates that are central to cellular energy metabolism. In some molecules of interest, such as adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), pairs of coupled P nuclei in the diphosphate moiety should enable the creation of nuclear spin singlet states, which may be long-lived and can be selectively detected via quantum filters. Here, we show that P singlet states can be created on ADP and NAD, but their lifetimes are shorter than T and are strongly sensitive to pH.

Imaging viscous flow of the Dirac fluid in graphene.

The electron-hole plasma in charge-neutral graphene is predicted to realize a quantum critical system in which electrical transport features a universal hydrodynamic description, even at room temperature. This quantum critical 'Dirac fluid' is expected to have a shear viscosity close to a minimum bound, with an interparticle scattering rate saturating at the Planckian time, the shortest possible timescale for particles to relax. Although electrical transport measurements at finite carrier density are consistent with hydrodynamic electron flow in graphene, a clear demonstration of viscous flow at the charge-neutrality point remains elusive.

Probing Dark Matter Using Precision Measurements of Stellar Accelerations.

Dark matter comprises the bulk of the matter in the Universe, but its particle nature and cosmological origin remain mysterious. Knowledge of the dark matter density distribution in the Milky Way Galaxy is crucial both to our understanding of the standard cosmological model and for grounding direct and indirect searches for the particles comprising dark matter. Current measurements of Galactic dark matter content rely on model assumptions to infer the forces acting upon stars from the distribution of observed velocities.

Quantum diamond spectrometer for nanoscale NMR and ESR spectroscopy.

Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) quantum defects in diamond are sensitive detectors of magnetic fields. Owing to their atomic size and optical readout capability, they have been used for magnetic resonance spectroscopy of nanoscale samples on diamond surfaces. Here, we present a protocol for fabricating NV diamond chips and for constructing and operating a simple, low-cost 'quantum diamond spectrometer' for performing NMR and electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy in nanoscale volumes.

Geometric phase magnetometry using a solid-state spin.

A key challenge of magnetometry lies in the simultaneous optimization of magnetic field sensitivity and maximum field range. In interferometry-based magnetometry, a quantum two-level system acquires a dynamic phase in response to an applied magnetic field. However, due to the 2π periodicity of the phase, increasing the coherent interrogation time to improve sensitivity reduces field range.

Fundamental Precision Bounds for Three-Dimensional Optical Localization Microscopy with Poisson Statistics.

Point source localization is a problem of persistent interest in optical imaging. In particular, a number of widely used biological microscopy techniques rely on precise three-dimensional localization of single fluorophores. As emitter depth localization is more challenging than lateral localization, considerable effort has been spent on engineering the response of the microscope in a way that reveals increased depth information.

Magnetostatic twists in room-temperature skyrmions explored by nitrogen-vacancy center spin texture reconstruction.

Magnetic skyrmions are two-dimensional non-collinear spin textures characterized by an integer topological number. Room-temperature skyrmions were recently found in magnetic multilayer stacks, where their stability was largely attributed to the interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. The strength of this interaction and its role in stabilizing the skyrmions is not yet well understood, and imaging of the full spin structure is needed to address this question.

Sensing Coherent Dynamics of Electronic Spin Clusters in Solids.

We observe coherent spin exchange between identical electronic spins in the solid state, a key step towards full quantum control of electronic spin registers in room temperature solids. In a diamond substrate, a single nitrogen vacancy (NV) center coherently couples to two adjacent S=1/2 dark electron spins via the magnetic dipolar interaction. We quantify NV-electron and electron-electron couplings via detailed spectroscopy, with good agreement to a model of strongly interacting spins.

High-resolution magnetic resonance spectroscopy using a solid-state spin sensor.

Quantum systems that consist of solid-state electronic spins can be sensitive detectors of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals, particularly from very small samples. For example, nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond have been used to record NMR signals from nanometre-scale samples, with sensitivity sufficient to detect the magnetic field produced by a single protein. However, the best reported spectral resolution for NMR of molecules using nitrogen-vacancy centres is about 100 hertz.

Mapping the microscale origins of magnetic resonance image contrast with subcellular diamond magnetometry.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a widely used biomedical imaging modality that derives much of its contrast from microscale magnetic field patterns in tissues. However, the connection between these patterns and the appearance of macroscale MR images has not been the subject of direct experimental study due to a lack of methods to map microscopic fields in biological samples. Here, we optically probe magnetic fields in mammalian cells and tissues with submicron resolution and nanotesla sensitivity using nitrogen-vacancy diamond magnetometry, and combine these measurements with simulations of nuclear spin precession to predict the corresponding MRI contrast.

Superresolution optical magnetic imaging and spectroscopy using individual electronic spins in diamond.

Nitrogen vacancy (NV) color centers in diamond are a leading modality for both superresolution optical imaging and nanoscale magnetic field sensing. In this work, we address the key challenge of performing optical magnetic imaging and spectroscopy selectively on multiple NV centers that are located within a diffraction-limited field-of-view. We use spin-RESOLFT microscopy to enable precision nanoscale mapping of magnetic field patterns with resolution down to ~20 nm, while employing a low power optical depletion beam.

Control and local measurement of the spin chemical potential in a magnetic insulator.

The spin chemical potential characterizes the tendency of spins to diffuse. Probing this quantity could provide insight into materials such as magnetic insulators and spin liquids and aid optimization of spintronic devices. Here we introduce single-spin magnetometry as a generic platform for nonperturbative, nanoscale characterization of spin chemical potentials.

Nanodiamond-enhanced MRI via in situ hyperpolarization.

Nanodiamonds are of interest as nontoxic substrates for targeted drug delivery and as highly biostable fluorescent markers for cellular tracking. Beyond optical techniques, however, options for noninvasive imaging of nanodiamonds in vivo are severely limited. Here, we demonstrate that the Overhauser effect, a proton-electron polarization transfer technique, can enable high-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of nanodiamonds in water at room temperature and ultra-low magnetic field.

Efficiency of Cathodoluminescence Emission by Nitrogen-Vacancy Color Centers in Nanodiamonds.

Correlated electron microscopy and cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging using functionalized nanoparticles is a promising nanoscale probe of biological structure and function. Nanodiamonds (NDs) that contain CL-emitting color centers are particularly well suited for such applications. The intensity of CL emission from NDs is determined by a combination of factors, including particle size, density of color centers, efficiency of energy deposition by electrons passing through the particle, and conversion efficiency from deposited energy to CL emission.

Optical magnetic detection of single-neuron action potentials using quantum defects in diamond.

Magnetic fields from neuronal action potentials (APs) pass largely unperturbed through biological tissue, allowing magnetic measurements of AP dynamics to be performed extracellularly or even outside intact organisms. To date, however, magnetic techniques for sensing neuronal activity have either operated at the macroscale with coarse spatial and/or temporal resolution-e.g.

Nuclear magnetic resonance detection and spectroscopy of single proteins using quantum logic.

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is a powerful tool for the structural analysis of organic compounds and biomolecules but typically requires macroscopic sample quantities. We use a sensor, which consists of two quantum bits corresponding to an electronic spin and an ancillary nuclear spin, to demonstrate room temperature magnetic resonance detection and spectroscopy of multiple nuclear species within individual ubiquitin proteins attached to the diamond surface. Using quantum logic to improve readout fidelity and a surface-treatment technique to extend the spin coherence time of shallow nitrogen-vacancy centers, we demonstrate magnetic field sensitivity sufficient to detect individual proton spins within 1 second of integration.

Probing scalar coupling differences via long-lived singlet states.

We probe small scalar coupling differences via the coherent interactions between two nuclear spin singlet states in organic molecules. We show that the spin-lock induced crossing (SLIC) technique enables the coherent transfer of singlet order between one spin pair and another. The transfer is mediated by the difference in syn and anti vicinal or long-range J couplings among the spins.

Fourier magnetic imaging with nanoscale resolution and compressed sensing speed-up using electronic spins in diamond.

Optically detected magnetic resonance using nitrogen-vacancy (NV) colour centres in diamond is a leading modality for nanoscale magnetic field imaging, as it provides single electron spin sensitivity, three-dimensional resolution better than 1 nm (ref. 5) and applicability to a wide range of physical and biological samples under ambient conditions. To date, however, NV-diamond magnetic imaging has been performed using 'real-space' techniques, which are either limited by optical diffraction to ∼250 nm resolution or require slow, point-by-point scanning for nanoscale resolution, for example, using an atomic force microscope, magnetic tip, or super-resolution optical imaging.

Single-cell magnetic imaging using a quantum diamond microscope.

We apply a quantum diamond microscope for detection and imaging of immunomagnetically labeled cells. This instrument uses nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond for correlated magnetic and fluorescence imaging. Our device provides single-cell resolution and a field of view (∼1 mm(2)) two orders of magnitude larger than that of previous NV imaging technologies, enabling practical applications.

Decoherence imaging of spin ensembles using a scanning single-electron spin in diamond.

The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) defect center in diamond has demonstrated great capability for nanoscale magnetic sensing and imaging for both static and periodically modulated target fields. However, it remains a challenge to detect and image randomly fluctuating magnetic fields. Recent theoretical and numerical works have outlined detection schemes that exploit changes in decoherence of the detector spin as a sensitive measure for fluctuating fields.