arXiv subjects

Pronoy Das

Publications and source records attributed to Pronoy Das.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Beyond the Purcell Effect: Controlling Pure Quantum Dephasing with Spin Noise Metasurfaces

One central theme in quantum photonics is tailoring the interactions between atoms/spins and their electromagnetic (EM) environments. Considerable effort has focused on engineering spontaneous emission by shaping EM environments, known as the Purcell effect. However, photonic environment control of pure dephasing, which is a complementary paradigm of non-unitary atom/spin couplings with EM environments, remains largely unexplored. Here, we introduce a nanophotonic approach to modify qubit pure dephasing dynamics. Unlike Purcell engineering that tailors photonic environments at qubit resonance frequencies (typically optical/near-infrared), we develop ultra-subwavelength spin noise metasurfaces for efficient broadband control of low-frequency (e.g., $\sim$MHz) photonic environments far off-resonant with atoms/spins for dephasing engineering. We experimentally demonstrate our approach using lithographically defined CoFeB metasurfaces and shallow nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. Instead of modified spontaneous emission, we observe modified NV pure dephasing dynamics near different spin noise metasurfaces. We further isolate metasurface-controlled dephasing from other dephasing mechanisms (e.g., spin bath) by measuring the NV ensemble dephasing noise spectrum with dynamical decoupling spectral decomposition techniques. Our results establish a new frontier in engineering quantum light-matter interactions with nanophotonic structures.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Probing near-field EM fluctuations in superparamagnetic CoFeB with NV quantum dephasometry

Superparamagnetism in nanoscale magnetic layers is a critical property for a wide range of spintronic-based sensor and computing applications. While conventional magnetization measurements can detect superparamagnetic signatures, they often require the application of high perturbative fields and are difficult to implement for magnetic layers integrated within functional devices. In this study, we non-invasively investigate the superparamagnetic spin dynamics of a nanoscale CoFeB layer of thickness 1.1 nm, deposited on a diamond substrate, by probing its low-frequency near-field electromagnetic (EM) fluctuations using nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers-based quantum dephasometry. Our measurements reveal an unconventional, non-monotonic temperature dependence of the dephasing time of NV centers, which we attribute to EM fluctuations produced by thermally driven superparamagnetic domain flipping in CoFeB. Our findings are further supported by the theoretical interpretation of the dephasing dynamics of NV centers and the complementary SQUID-based magnetization characterizations of the CoFeB layer. Additionally, exploiting the technique of NV dephasometry, we extract the spectral density of the EM fluctuations in CoFeB, which is used to isolate different components of the EM fluctuations acting on NV centers. We also measure the CoFeB-to-NV distance-dependent coherence times of NV centers to investigate the effect of the dimensionality of the CoFeB layer on the generated near-field EM fluctuations. These results provide critical insight into the magnetization dynamics and near-field EM environment of nanoscale magnetic layers. It also has significant implications for the development of hybrid quantum spintronic devices and applications involving nanoscale opto-magnetic materials.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Observation of Crystalline Nonlocal Volume Plasmon Waves

In plasmonics, nonlocal effects arise when the material response to optical excitations is strongly dependent on the spatial correlations of the excitation. It is well known that a classical free electron gas system supports local Drude volume plasmon waves. Whereas a compressible quantum electron gas system sustains hydrodynamic volume plasmons with nonlocal dispersion isotropic across all high-symmetry directions. Here, distinct from Drude and Hydrodynamic plasmon waves, we present the first observation of crystalline nonlocal volume plasmon waves. We use transmission-based momentum-resolved electron energy loss spectroscopy to measure the volume plasmon dispersion of silicon along all the fundamental symmetry axes, up to high momentum values ($q \sim 0.7$ reciprocal lattice units). We show that crystalline nonlocal plasmon waves have a prominent anisotropic dispersion with higher curvature along the light-mass ($ΓK$ \& $ΓL$) axes, compared to the heavy-mass ($ΓX$) axis. We unveil the origin of this phenomenon by experimentally extracting the anisotropic Fermi velocities of silicon. Our work highlights an exquisite nonlocality-induced anisotropy of volume plasmon waves, providing pathways for probing many-body quantum effects at extreme momenta.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Quantum Theory of Optical Spin Texture in Chiral Tellurium Lattice

The absence of inversion symmetry in chiral tellurium (Te) creates exotic spin textures within its electron waves. However, understanding textured optical waves within Te remains a challenge due to the semi-classical limitations of long-wavelength approximation. To unveil these textured optical waves, we develop a spin-resolved deep-microscopic optical bandstructure for Te analogous to its electronic counterpart. We demonstrate that the degeneracies in this optical bandstructure is lifted by the twisted lattice of Te, which induces optical gyrotropy. Our theory shows excellent agreement with experimental optical gyrotropy measurements. At the lattice level, we reveal that the chirality of Te manifests as deep-microscopic optical spin texture within the optical wave. Our framework uncovers the finite-momentum origin of optical activity and provides a microscopic basis for light-matter interactions in chiral crystalline materials.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Quantum Imaging of Photonic Spin Texture in an OAM Beam with NV Centers in Diamond

Photonic spin texture (PST), the spatial distribution of the spin angular momentum (SAM) of light, is connected to unique properties of light, such as optical skyrmions and topological optical N-invariants. There has been recent progress on the generation and manipulation of PST using various methodologies. However, a challenge remains for the sub-wavelength characterization of PST. Here, we demonstrate nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond as nanoscale quantum sensors for imaging the PST of a beam with orbital angular momentum (OAM). Leveraging the coherent interaction between photon spin and NV center electron spin at cryogenic temperature (77 K), and using the Hahn-Echo magnetometry technique, we experimentally demonstrate the imprinting of the PST on the quantum phase of NV centers. Our work can lead to the development of a quantum imaging platform capable of characterization of the spin texture of light at sub-wavelength scales.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

New Angular Momentum Conservation Laws for Gauge Fields in QED

Quantum electrodynamics (QED) deals with the relativistic interaction of bosonic gauge fields and fermionic charged particles. In QED, global conservation laws of angular momentum for light-matter interactions are well-known. However, local conservation laws, i.e. the conservation law of angular momentum at every point in space, remain unexplored. Here, we use the QED Lagrangian and Noether's theorem to derive a new local conservation law of angular momentum for Dirac-Maxwell fields in the form of the continuity relation for linear momentum. We separate this local conservation law into four coupled motion equations for spin and orbital angular momentum (OAM) densities. We introduce a helicity current tensor, OAM current tensor, and spin-orbit torque in the motion equations to shed light on on the local dynamics of spin-OAM interaction and angular momentum exchange between Maxwell-Dirac fields. We elucidate how our results translate to classical electrodynamics using the example of plane wave interference as well as a dual-mode optical fiber. Our results shine light on phenomena related to the spin of gauge bosons.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Quantum theory of orbital angular momentum in spatiotemporal optical vortices

Spatiotemporal Optical Vortices (STOVs) are structured electromagnetic fields propagating in free space with phase singularities in the space-time domain. Depending on the tilt of the helical phase front, STOVs can carry both longitudinal and transverse orbital angular momentum (OAM). Although STOVs have gained significant interest in the recent years, the current understanding is limited to the semi-classical picture. Here, we develop a quantum theory for STOVs with an arbitrary tilt, extending beyond the paraxial limit. We demonstrate that quantum STOV states, such as Fock and coherent twisted photon pulses, display non-vanishing longitudinal OAM fluctuations that are absent in conventional monochromatic twisted pulses. We show that these quantum fluctuations exhibit a unique texture, i.e. a spatial distribution which can be used to experimentally isolate these quantum effects. Our findings represent a step towards the exploitation of quantum effects of structured light for various applications such as OAM-based encoding protocols and platforms to explore novel light-matter interaction in 2D material systems.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

What are the quantum commutation relations for the total angular momentum of light?

The total angular momentum of light has received attention for its application in a variety of phenomena such as optical communication, optical forces and sensing. However, the quantum behavior including the commutation relations have been relatively less explored. Here, we derive the correct commutation relation for the total angular momentum of light using both relativistic and non-relativistic approaches. An important outcome of our work is the proof that the widely-assumed quantum commutation relation for the total observable angular momentum of light is fundamentally incorrect. Our work will motivate experiments and leads to new insight on the quantum behavior of the angular momentum of light.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2021

Microstrip Line Based Complementary Resonant Structure For Dielectric Characterization

In this work, a complementary resonant structure etched on the ground plane of a microstrip line is proposed for characterizing dielectric materials. The resonant sensor is designed to operate in S-band (2 to 4 GHz). The sensor is designed in an electromagnetic simulator to generate its transmission response, electric and magnetic field maps. A numerical model of the sensor is established to extract the electric permittivity of dielectric samples. The sensor is fabricated on a soft microwave laminate using a rapid photolithography technique. The electric permittivity values of wood, Teflon, and RT/duroid 5880LZ are determined by using the sensor. The permittivity values are found consistent with those available in the literature.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2021

Detection of electron spin resonance down to 10 K using localized spoof surface plasmon

In this study, novel use of the electromagnetic field profile of a localized spoof surface plasmonic mode to detect electron spin resonance is being reported. The mode is supported on a resonator with a complementary metallic spiral structure, etched on the ground plane of a microstrip line having a characteristic impedance of 50 $Ω$. The change in characteristics of the mode of interest with lowering of temperature has been observed and analyzed. Electron spin resonance spectra of a standard paramagnetic sample, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, are recorded using this resonator down to 10 K. Potential application of the mode in the detection of microwave Rashba field-driven electron spin resonance has been discussed.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2020

S-band electron spin resonance spectroscopy using a short-circuited coplanar waveguide resonator

In this work, we study the development of a coplanar waveguide (CPW) resonator and its use in an electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrometer. The CPW resonator is designed to operate in S-band. It has a short circuit configuration which leads to miniaturization. It is so constructed such that it has a characteristic impedance of 50 ohms. Detailed electromagnetic simulation with a particular emphasis on the excitation of the structure has been performed for this resonator owing to its uniplanar nature. The design parameters and the electromagnetic field distribution are obtained from the simulation. The resonator is fabricated using optical lithography with a rapid prototyping technique. The characteristic response of the resonator is measured by coupling it to a Vector Network Analyzer (VNA). The ESR absorption spectrum of free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) is captured by using this resonator in reflection geometry. The microwave magnetic field distribution at the sample position is investigated.The measured g-factor value is found to be consistent with that reported in the literature. The quality factor of this resonator is found to be low and this makes it suitable for use in a Pulsed ESR spectrometer.

physics.app-ph↗