Observation of quantum phase synchronization in a nuclear-spin system

Abstract

We report an experimental study of phase synchronization in a pair of interacting nuclear spins subjected to an external drive in nuclear magnetic resonance architecture. A weak transition-selective radio-frequency field applied on one of the spins is observed to cause phase localization, which is experimentally established by measuring the Husimi distribution function under various drive conditions. To this end, we have developed a general interferometric technique to directly extract values of the Husimi function via the transverse magnetization of the undriven nuclear spin. We further verify the robustness of synchronization to detuning in the system by studying the Arnold tongue behavior.