Accurate noise spectroscopy using quantum sensing ensembles
Abstract
Noise spectroscopy with quantum sensors is a powerful tool for characterising the properties of the sensor environment and detecting critical magnetic phenomena. While replacing single sensors with large ensembles promises substantial gains in measurement sensitivity and field of view, the output becomes difficult to interpret when there is a variable coupling to targets across the sensing ensemble. In this work we present an analysis procedure for accessing the true source noise spectrum using ensemble coherence from dynamical decoupling measurements. We show that sequence timing plays a dual role in ensemble noise spectroscopy, setting both the frequency selectivity and the weighted collection of signal across the ensemble, and demonstrate how incorporation of the coupling distribution allows accurate parameter extraction of the noise. We apply this procedure to a model system, shallow nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond, and show that consistent information about the spectral character of MHz-range surface noise can be obtained from two sensing ensembles featuring distinct depth distributions. Our results pave the way for using large quantum sensor ensembles for quantitative, broadband noise spectroscopy, with straightforward extension to other solid-state and molecular sensing platforms.
Related
- Momentum-resolved magnetic noise spectroscopy using ensembles of diamond quantum sensors
- Observation of Rabi-oscillation-driven cyclical noise squeezing in active quantum dot ensembles
- Quantum-enhanced sensing via spectral noise reduction
- Sensing quantum vacuum fluctuations with non-Gaussian electronic noise
- Quantum-enhanced phase sensing via spectral noise reduction
BibTeX
@misc{vallury2026accurate,
title = {{Accurate noise spectroscopy using quantum sensing ensembles}},
author = {Dhilan T Vallury and Nikolai Dontschuk and Alexander M Jakob and Alexander J Healey and David A Simpson},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.16643},
eprint = {2609.16643},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.16643},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Accurate noise spectroscopy using quantum sensing ensembles
AU - Dhilan T Vallury
AU - Nikolai Dontschuk
AU - Alexander M Jakob
AU - Alexander J Healey
AU - David A Simpson
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/15
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.16643
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.16643
AB - Noise spectroscopy with quantum sensors is a powerful tool for characterising the properties of the sensor environment and detecting critical magnetic phenomena. While replacing single sensors with large ensembles promises substantial gains in measurement sensitivity and field of view, the output becomes difficult to interpret when there is a variable coupling to targets across the sensing ensemble. In this work we present an analysis procedure for accessing the true source noise spectrum using ensemble coherence from dynamical decoupling measurements. We show that sequence timing plays a dual role in ensemble noise spectroscopy, setting both the frequency selectivity and the weighted collection of signal across the ensemble, and demonstrate how incorporation of the coupling distribution allows accurate parameter extraction of the noise. We apply this procedure to a model system, shallow nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond, and show that consistent information about the spectral character of MHz-range surface noise can be obtained from two sensing ensembles featuring distinct depth distributions. Our results pave the way for using large quantum sensor ensembles for quantitative, broadband noise spectroscopy, with straightforward extension to other solid-state and molecular sensing platforms.
ER -