Physics and Applications of high-density spin-polarized systems with long coherence time

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This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The project investigates novel materials, paramagnetic atoms ablated into a cryogenic buffer gas and nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers in diamond crystals, that open a possibility for creating magnetic-field sensors with unprecedented combinations of parameters: ultra-high sensitivity, compact size, a broad range of operating temperatures, etc. The applications of these devices range from the most fundamental physics, for example, the search for the reasons for the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe, to magnetic microscopy of biologically relevant objects and nuclear-magnetic-resonance detection on lab-on-a-chip microfluidic devices. The intellectual merit of the proposed work consists of advancement of the current understanding of the mechanisms of spin-decoherence of paramagnetic atoms in a dense buffer gas and NV centers in diamond in a wide temperature range, as well as the development of techniques for obtaining systems with ultra-long electron spin-coherence lifetimes. This development will have a broad impact on the optics and atomic physics community. The project draws from the areas of atomic, solid-state optical, and low-temperature physics, cross-fertilizing these disciplines.The other part of the broader impact of this experiment is through training graduate and undergraduate students. The project allows for a unique combination of a broad range of physics skills to be taught to students: cryogenics, spectroscopy and optical pumping, atomic theory, solid-state optics, non-linear optics, lasers, electronics, vacuum techniques, etc. In addition to expanding modern cryogenic and optical physics facilities at Berkeley, it also provides a basis for partnership between Berkeley and several other universities, both in US and abroad (in Poland, Latvia, France, Australia, Russia, and Germany).