Using dynamical decoupling to investigate magnetism of large-spin atoms

In the low-entropy, near-unit filling regime, we employ advanced dynamical decoupling techniques to suppress magnetic-field noise and probe spin coherence across the superfluid–Mott insulator transition. Phys. Rev. A 113, 033306 (2026)

We present a detailed investigation of itinerant magnetism in a dipolar Bose gas of chromium atoms confined in a three-dimensional optical lattice, expanding on results recently reported in Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 103401 (2026).

In the low-entropy, near-unit filling regime, we employ advanced dynamical decoupling techniques to suppress magnetic-field noise and probe spin coherence across the superfluid–Mott insulator transition.

We provide a systematic comparison of different dynamical decoupling sequences, analyze their robustness to experimental imperfections, and quantify their impact on spin dynamics. We also develop perturbative and effective-model approaches that capture the role of both contact and dipolar interactions in determining spin coherence.

In the superfluid regime, we discuss a hydrodynamic description that elucidates the emergence and breakdown of metastable ferromagnetism. In the insulating regime, we derive effective spin models including superexchange terms. In this limit, we introduce a tractable spin-1 toy model and a short-time expansion of the full spin-3 dynamics that help to shed insight on the interplay between dipolar and contact-driven superexchange dynamics observed experimentally for spin-3.

Our comprehensive analysis bridges experiment and theory, providing new tools and perspectives for understanding itinerant dipolar magnetism in optical lattices.

Top: dynamical decoupling (DD) sequences that we have studied. The Ramsey sequence is complemented by a series of π pulses separated by a duration T . πx,y represent rotations of an angle ≈π around the X or Y axis. Bottom: DD outcomes. Open red symbols are obtained without DD. “X” sequence (where πx pulses are repeatedly applied) does not preserve coherence long enough (open orange symbols), unlike “Y” sequence (repeated πy pulses, solid green symbols).