Expérimental et théorique
Experiments on trapping particles containing atoms with a spin degree of freedom have shown remarkable progress in recent years. In our team, we have developed a micro-electrostatic trap for diamond particles containing defects whose spin can be coherently polarized and manipulated with microwaves. These defects are molecular systems consisting in the association of a nitrogen atom and a vacancy (NV center). Thanks to a coupling mechanism of the spin of the NV centers in the diamond with the oscillation of the diamond in the trap, we have been able to demonstrate an efficient cooling mechanism of the angular motion of the latter. It is in fact theoretically possible to control this motion until it is cooled to the ground state of the harmonic oscillator. The objective of the internship (and later of the thesis) will be to levitate ultra-pure diamond particles and employ instead the coupling of the motion to nuclear spins to move towards this regime.