We propose an experiment to search for QCD axion and axionlike-particle dark matter. Nuclei that are interacting with the background axion dark matter acquire time-varying CP-odd nuclear moments such as an electric dipole moment. In analogy with nuclear magnetic resonance, these moments cause precession of nuclear spins in a material sample in the presence of an electric field. Precision magnetometry can be used to search for such precession. An initial phase of this experiment could cover many orders of magnitude in axionlike-particle parameter space beyond the current astrophysical and laboratory limits. And with established techniques, the proposed experimental scheme has sensitivity to QCD axion masses m a ≲ 10 −9 eV, corresponding to theoretically well-motivated axion decay constants f a ≳ 10 16 GeV. With further improvements, this experiment could ultimately cover the entire range of masses m a ≲ μ eV, complementary to cavity searches.

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. This gain in sensitivity enables high-confidence detection of individual proteins and allows us to observe spectral features that reveal information about their chemical composition.

Quantum theory predicts the existence of the Casimir force between macroscopic bodies, due to the zero-point energy of electromagnetic field modes around them. This quantum fluctuation-induced force has been experimentally observed for metallic and semiconducting bodies, although the measurements to date have been unable to clearly settle the question of the correct low-frequency form of the dielectric constant dispersion (the Drude model or the plasma model) to be used for calculating the Casimir forces. At finite temperature a thermal Casimir force, due to thermal, rather than quantum, fluctuations of the electromagnetic field, has been theoretically predicted long ago. Here we report the experimental observation of the thermal Casimir force between two gold plates. We measured the attractive force between a flat and a spherical plate for separations between 0.7 $\mu$m and 7 $\mu$m. An electrostatic force caused by potential patches on the plates' surfaces is included in the analysis. The experimental results are in excellent agreement (reduced $\chi^2$ of 1.04) with the Casimir force calculated using the Drude model, including the T=300 K thermal force, which dominates over the quantum fluctuation-induced force at separations greater than 3 $\mu$m. The plasma model result is excluded in the measured separation range.Comment: 6 page

We propose and analyze a new approach based on quantum error correction (QEC) to improve quantum metrology in the presence of noise. We identify the conditions under which QEC allows one to improve the signal-to-noise ratio in quantum-limited measurements, and we demonstrate that it enables, in certain situations, Heisenberg-limited sensitivity. We discuss specific applications to nanoscale sensing using nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond in which QEC can significantly improve the measurement sensitivity and bandwidth under realistic experimental conditions.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are wellestablished techniques that provide valuable information in a diverse set of disciplines but are currently limited to macroscopic sample volumes. Here we demonstrate nanoscale NMR spectroscopy and imaging under ambient conditions of samples containing multiple nuclear species, using nitrogen-vacancy (NV) colour centres in diamond as sensors. With single, shallow NV centres in a diamond chip and samples placed on the diamond surface, we perform NMR spectroscopy and one-dimensional MRI on few-nanometre-sized samples containing 1 H and 19 F nuclei. Alternatively, we employ a high-density NV layer near the surface of a diamond chip to demonstrate wide-field optical NMR spectroscopy of nanoscale samples containing 1 H, 19 F, and 31 P nuclei, as well as multi-species two-dimensional optical MRI with sub-micron resolution. For all diamond samples exposed to air, we identify a ubiquitous 1 H NMR signal, consistent with a ∼ 1 nm layer of adsorbed hydrocarbons or water on the diamond surface and below any sample placed on the diamond. This work lays the foundation for nanoscale NMR and MRI applications such as studies of single proteins and functional biological imaging with subcellular resolution, as well as characterization of thin films with sub-nanometre resolution.

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We demonstrate a robust experimental method for determining the depth of individual shallow Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) centers in diamond with ∼ 1 nm uncertainty. We use a confocal microscope to observe single NV centers and detect the proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signal produced by objective immersion oil, which has well understood nuclear spin properties, on the diamond surface. We determine the NV center depth by analyzing the NV NMR data using a model that describes the interaction of a single NV center with the statistically-polarized proton spin bath. We repeat this procedure for a large number of individual, shallow NV centers and compare the resulting NV depths to the mean value expected from simulations of the ion implantation process used to create the NV centers, with reasonable agreement.

We report measurements of the short-range forces between two macroscopic gold-coated plates using a torsion pendulum. The force is measured for separations between 0.7 and 7 μm and is well described by a combination of the Casimir force, including the finite-temperature correction, and an electrostatic force due to patch potentials on the plate surfaces. We use our data to place constraints on the Yukawa-type "new" forces predicted by theories with extra dimensions. We establish a new best bound for force ranges 0.4-4 μm and, for forces mediated by gauge bosons propagating in (4+n) dimensions and coupling to the baryon number, extract a (4+n)-dimensional Planck scale lower limit of M(*)>70 TeV.