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arXiv · 2608.13936

Cold-atom comagnetometry via optical control of spin states

J. -L. Zhang·W. -T. Luo·Y. A. Yang·Y. -Q. Wang·T. Xia·Z. -T. Lu
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Abstract

Atomic spin-based comagnetometers are powerful tools for precision sensing and tests of fundamental physics. Compared with the widely used gas-cell comagnetometer systems, cold-atom systems offer access to much shorter distance scales and allow implementation of {optical} quantum control techniques. However, in order to realize long spin coherence times with cold atoms, it is necessary to employ diamagnetic atoms and overcome decoherence induced by light shifts. Here we demonstrate a cold-atom comagnetometer based on the nuclear spins of $^{171}$Yb (spin-1/2) and $^{173}$Yb (spin-5/2), jointly trapped in an optical lattice. Vector light shifts are suppressed by enforcing linear polarization of the lattice, while tensor shifts in $^{173}$Yb are suppressed via the use of a Schr\"{o}dinger cat state. This enables simultaneous Ramsey interferometry on both isotopes with a spin coherence time of 60 s. We achieve a magnetic noise suppression factor exceeding $3\times10^4$, and determine the ratio of nuclear magnetic moments to 4 ppm precision. Our results establish a new cold-atom platform for spin-based sensing and open pathways toward quantum-enhanced searches for physics beyond the Standard Model.

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J. -L. Zhang, W. -T. Luo, Y. A. Yang, Y. -Q. Wang, T. Xia, Z. -T. Lu. 2026-08-14. Cold-atom comagnetometry via optical control of spin states. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-026-01982-4

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