Observation of parity-time symmetry breaking in a single-spin system
At a Glance
Section titled āAt a Glanceā| Metadata | Details |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 2019-05-30 |
| Journal | Science |
| Authors | Yang Wu, Wenquan Liu, Jianpei Geng, Xing-Rui Song, Xiangyu Ye |
| Institutions | CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, University of Science and Technology of China |
| Citations | 388 |
Abstract
Section titled āAbstractāBreaking symmetry with single spins The energetics of quantum systems are typically described by Hermitian Hamiltonians. The exploration of non-Hermitian physics in classical parity-time (PT)-symmetric systems has provided fertile theoretical and experimental ground to develop systems exhibiting exotic behavior. Wu et al. now demonstrate that non-Hermitian physics can be found in a solid-state quantum system. They developed a protocol, termed dilation, which transformed a PT-symmetric Hamiltonian into a Hermitian one. This allowed them to investigate PT-symmetric physics with a single nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond. The results provide a starting point for exploiting and understanding the exotic properties of PT-symmetric Hamiltonians in quantum systems. Science , this issue p. 878