Dynamic decoupling in the presence of 1D random walk

Abstract

In the recent past, many dynamic decoupling sequences have been proposed for the suppression of decoherence of spins connected to thermal baths of various natures. Dynamic decoupling schemes for suppressing decoherence due to Gaussian diffusion have also been developed. In this work, we study the relative performances of dynamic decoupling schemes in the presence of a non-stationary Gaussian noise such as a 1D random walk. Frequency domain analysis is not suitable to determine the performances of various dynamic decoupling schemes in suppressing decoherence due to such a process. Thus, in this work, we follow a time domain calculation to arrive at the following conclusions: in the presence of such a noise, we show that (i) the traditional Carr–Purcell–Meiboom–Gill (CPMG) sequence outperforms Uhrig’s dynamic decoupling scheme, (ii) CPMG remains the optimal sequence for suppression of decoherence due to random walk in the presence of an external field gradient. Later, the theoretical predictions are experimentally verified by using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy on spin 1/2 particles diffusing in a liquid medium.