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The layered chalcogenide Ta$_{2}$NiSe$_{5}$ has been proposed to host an excitonic condensate in its ground state, a phase that could offer a unique platform to study and manipulate many-body states at room temperature. However, identifying the dominant microscopic contribution to the observed spontaneous symmetry breaking remains challenging, perpetuating the debate over the ground state properties. Here, using broadband ultrafast spectroscopy we investigate the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of Ta$_{2}$NiSe$_{5}$ and demonstrate that the transient reflectivity in the near-infrared range is connected to the system's low-energy physics. We track the status of the ordered phase using this optical signature, establishing that high-fluence photoexcitations can suppress this order. From the sub-50 fs quenching timescale and the behaviour of the photoinduced coherent phonon modes, we conclude that electronic correlations provide a decisive contribution to the excitonic order formation. Our results pave the way towards the ultrafast control of an exciton condensate at room temperature.

Excitonic insulators host a condensate of electron-hole pairs at equilibrium, giving rise to collective many-body effects. Although several materials have emerged as excitonic insulator candidates, evidence of long-range coherence is lacking and the origin of the ordered phase in these systems remains controversial. Here, using ultrafast pump-probe microscopy, we investigate the possible excitonic insulator Ta$_2$NiSe$_5$. Below 328 K, we observe the anomalous micrometer-scale propagation of coherent modes at velocities of the order of $\sim10^5$ m/s, which we attribute to the hybridization between phonon modes and the phase mode of the condensate. We develop a theoretical framework to support this explanation and propose that electronic interactions provide a significant contribution to the ordered phase in Ta$_2$NiSe$_5$. These results allow us to understand how the condensate's collective modes transport energy and interact with other degrees of freedom. Our study provides a unique paradigm for the investigation and manipulation of these properties in strongly correlated materials.

Temperature sensors with micro- and nanoscale spatial resolution have long been explored for their potential to investigate the details of physical systems at an unprecedented scale. In particular, the rapid miniaturization of transistor technology, with the associated steep boost in power density, calls for sensors that accurately monitor heating distributions. Here, we report on a simple and scalable fabrication approach, based on directed self-assembly and transfer printing techniques, to construct arrays of nanodiamonds containing temperature sensitive fluorescent spin defects. The nanoparticles are embedded within a low thermal conductivity matrix that allows for repeated use on a wide range of systems with minimal spurious effects. Additionally, we demonstrate access to a wide spectrum of array parameters ranging from sparser single particle arrays to denser devices with approximately 100 % yield and stronger photoluminescence signal, ideal for temperature measurements. With these we experimentally reconstruct the temperature map of an operating coplanar waveguide to confirm the accuracy of these platforms., Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures

The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond has been extensively studied in recent years for its remarkable quantum coherence properties that make it an ideal candidate for room temperature quantum computing and quantum sensing schemes. However, these schemes rely on spin-spin dipolar interactions, which require the NV centers to be within a few nanometers from each other while still separately addressable, or to be in close proximity of the diamond surface, where their coherence properties significantly degrade. Here we demonstrate a method for overcoming these limitations using a hybrid yttrium iron garnet (YIG)-nanodiamond quantum system constructed with the help of directed assembly and transfer printing techniques. We show that YIG spin-waves can amplify the oscillating field of a microwave source by more than two orders of magnitude and efficiently mediate its coherent interactions with an NV center ensemble. These results demonstrate that spin-waves in ferromagnets can be used as quantum buses for enhanced, long-range qubit interactions, paving the way to ultra-efficient manipulation and coupling of solid state defects in hybrid quantum networks and sensing devices., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures

The negatively-charged nitrogen vacancy center (NV) in diamond has generated significant interest as a platform for quantum information processing and sensing in the solid state. For most applications, high quality optical cavities are required to enhance the NV zero-phonon line (ZPL) emission. An outstanding challenge in maximizing the degree of NV-cavity coupling is the deterministic placement of NVs within the cavity. Here, we report photonic crystal nanobeam cavities coupled to NVs incorporated by a delta-doping technique that allows nanometer-scale vertical positioning of the emitters. We demonstrate cavities with Q up to ~24,000 and mode volume V ~ $0.47({\lambda}/n)^{3}$ as well as resonant enhancement of the ZPL of an NV ensemble with Purcell factor of ~20. Our fabrication technique provides a first step towards deterministic NV-cavity coupling using spatial control of the emitters., Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures

The elimination of defects from SiC has facilitated its move to the forefront of the optoelectronics and power-electronics industries. Nonetheless, because the electronic states of SiC defects can have sharp optical and spin transitions, they are increasingly recognized as a valuable resource for quantum-information and nanoscale-sensing applications. Here, we show that individual electron spin states in highly purified monocrystalline 4H-SiC can be isolated and coherently controlled. Bound to neutral divacancy defects, these states exhibit exceptionally long ensemble Hahn-echo spin coherence, exceeding 1 ms. Coherent control of single spins in a material amenable to advanced growth and microfabrication techniques is an exciting route to wafer-scale quantum technologies., Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures