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Abstract Spin defects in van der Waals materials offer a promising platform for advancing quantum technologies. Here, we propose and demonstrate a powerful technique based on isotope engineering of host materials to significantly enhance the coherence properties of embedded spin defects. Focusing on the recently-discovered negatively charged boron vacancy center ($${{{{{{{{\rm{V}}}}}}}}}_{{{{{{{{\rm{B}}}}}}}}}^{-}$$ $V_B^{-}$) in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), we grow isotopically purified h¹⁰B¹⁵N crystals. Compared to$${{{{{{{{\rm{V}}}}}}}}}_{{{{{{{{\rm{B}}}}}}}}}^{-}$$ $V_B^{-}$in hBN with the natural distribution of isotopes, we observe substantially narrower and less crowded$${{{{{{{{\rm{V}}}}}}}}}_{{{{{{{{\rm{B}}}}}}}}}^{-}$$ $V_B^{-}$spin transitions as well as extended coherence timeT₂and relaxation timeT₁. For quantum sensing,$${{{{{{{{\rm{V}}}}}}}}}_{{{{{{{{\rm{B}}}}}}}}}^{-}$$ $V_B^{-}$centers in our h¹⁰B¹⁵N samples exhibit a factor of 4 (2) enhancement in DC (AC) magnetic field sensitivity. For additional quantum resources, the individual addressability of the$${{{{{{{{\rm{V}}}}}}}}}_{{{{{{{{\rm{B}}}}}}}}}^{-}$$ $V_B^{-}$hyperfine levels enables the dynamical polarization and coherent control of the three nearest-neighbor¹⁵N nuclear spins. Our results demonstrate the power of isotope engineering for enhancing the properties of quantum spin defects in hBN, and can be readily extended to improving spin qubits in a broad family of van der Waals materials. 

Abstract We calculate cross sections for fine-structure transitions of Ne⁺, Ar⁺, Ne²⁺, and Ar²⁺in collisions with atomic hydrogen by using quantum-mechanical methods. Relaxation rate coefficients are calculated for temperatures up to 10,000 K. The temperature-dependent critical densities for the relaxation of Ne⁺, Ar⁺, Ne²⁺, and Ar²⁺in collisions with H have been determined and compared to the critical densities for collisions with electrons. The present calculations will be useful for studies utilizing the infrared lines [Neii] 12.8, [Neiii] 15.6, [Neiii] 36.0, [Arii] 6.99, [Ariii] 8.99, and [Ariii] 21.8μm as diagnostics of, for example, planetary nebulae and star formation. 

Abstract We recount the life, work, and legacy of the theoretical physicist Roy Glauber (1925–2018). Admitted to Harvard at age 16, called upon to participate in the Manhattan Project at age eighteen, and appointed to the Harvard Physics faculty at age 29, Glauber is credited with seminal contributions to three separate fields of physics: nuclear scattering, statistical physics, and foundational work in quantum optics, which earned him the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physics. Over decades, Glauber was also a dedicated teacher of high‐school, college, and graduate students. His pedagogical gifts are reflected in his lucid papers that read as if they were written yesterday. Key pointsperspective on the life, work, and legacy of the 2005 Physics Nobel laureate Roy Glauber (1925–2018)impact of Glauber's contributions on large swaths of physics, from nuclear to optical to condensed matterGlauber's work in quantum optics has nurtured burgeoning areas of quantum science and engineering 

Abstract In quantum chaotic systems, the spectral form factor (SFF), defined as the Fourier transform of two-level spectral correlation function, is known to follow random matrix theory (RMT), namely a ‘ramp’ followed by a ‘plateau’ in late times. Recently, a generic early-time deviation from RMT, so-called the ‘bump’, was shown to exist in random quantum circuits as toy models for many-body quantum systems. We demonstrate the existence of ‘bump-ramp-plateau’ behavior in the SFF for a number of paradigmatic and stroboscopically-driven 1D cold-atom models: spinless and spin-1/2 Bose-Hubbard models, and nonintegrable spin-1 condensate with contact or dipolar interactions. We find that the scaling of the many-body Thouless timet_Th—the onset of RMT—, and the bump amplitude are more sensitive to variations in atom number than the lattice size regardless of the hyperfine structure, the symmetry classes, or the choice of driving protocol. Moreover,t_Thscaling and the increase of the bump amplitude in atom number are significantly slower in spinor gases than interacting bosons in 1D optical lattices, demonstrating the role of locality. We obtain universal scaling functions of SFF which suggest power-law behavior for the bump regime in quantum chaotic cold-atom systems, and propose an interference measurement protocol. 

Abstract In 1921, Otto Stern conceived the idea for an experiment that would decide between a classical and a quantum description of atomic behavior, as epitomized by the Bohr–Sommerfeld–Debye model of the atom. This model entailed not only the quantization of the magnitude of the orbital electronic angular momentum but also of the projection of the angular momentum on an external magnetic field – the so‐called space quantization. Stern recognized that space quantization would have observable consequences: namely, that the magnetic dipole moment due to the orbital angular momentum would be space quantized as well, taking two opposite values for atoms whose only unpaired electron has just one quantum of orbital angular momentum. When acted upon by a suitable inhomogeneous magnetic field, a beam of such atoms would be split into two beams consisting of deflected atoms with opposite projections of the orbital angular momentum on the magnetic field. In contradistinction, if atoms behaved classically, the atomic beam would only broaden along the field gradient and have maximum intensity at zero deflection, i. e., where there would be a minimum or no intensity for a beam split due to space quantization. Stern anticipated that, although simple in principle, the experiment would be difficult to carry out – and invited Walther Gerlach to team up with him. Gerlach's realism and experimental skills together with his sometimes stubborn determination to make things work proved invaluable for the success of the Stern–Gerlach experiment (SGE). After a long struggle, Gerlach finally saw, on 8 February 1922, the splitting of a beam of silver atoms in a magnetic field. The absence of the concept of electron spin confused and confounded the interpretation of the SGE, as the silver atoms were, in fact, in a²S state, with zero orbital andspin angular momentum. However, a key quantum feature whose existence the SGE was designed to test – namely space quantization of electronic angular momentum – was robust enough to transpire independent of whether the electronic angular momentum was orbital or due to spin. The SGE entails other key aspects of quantum mechanics such as quantum measurement, state preparation, coherence, and entanglement. Confronted with the outcome of the SGE, Stern noted: “I still have objections to the idea of beauty of quantum mechanics. But she is correct.” 

Abstract Noncommuting conserved quantities have recently launched a subfield of quantum thermodynamics. In conventional thermodynamics, a system of interest and an environment exchange quantities—energy, particles, electric charge, etc.—that are globally conserved and are represented by Hermitian operators. These operators were implicitly assumed to commute with each other, until a few years ago. Freeing the operators to fail to commute has enabled many theoretical discoveries—about reference frames, entropy production, resource-theory models, etc. Little work has bridged these results from abstract theory to experimental reality. This paper provides a methodology for building this bridge systematically: we present a prescription for constructing Hamiltonians that conserve noncommuting quantities globally while transporting the quantities locally. The Hamiltonians can couple arbitrarily many subsystems together and can be integrable or nonintegrable. Our Hamiltonians may be realized physically with superconducting qudits, with ultracold atoms, and with trapped ions. 

Abstract The ability to generate and control strong long-range interactions via highly excited electronic states has been the foundation for recent breakthroughs in a host of areas, from atomic and molecular physics to quantum optics and technology. Rydberg excitons provide a promising solid-state realization of such highly excited states, for which record-breaking orbital sizes of up to a micrometer have indeed been observed in cuprous oxide semiconductors. Here, we demonstrate the generation and control of strong exciton interactions in this material by optically producing two distinct quantum states of Rydberg excitons. This is made possible by two-color pump-probe experiments that allow for a detailed probing of the interactions. Our experiments reveal the emergence of strong spatial correlations and an inter-state Rydberg blockade that extends over remarkably large distances of several micrometers. The generated many-body states of semiconductor excitons exhibit universal properties that only depend on the shape of the interaction potential and yield clear evidence for its vastly extended-range and power-law character.