Spin force from a nitrogen-vacancy ensemble drives a 100-mg levitated resonator.

Controllable motion of a 128-mg levitated resonator driven by an ensemble of NV spins demonstrates a significant step in high-mass spin-mechanical systems.

• Why it matters: Understanding and harnessing spin forces at larger scales is crucial for advancing hybrid quantum technologies, including quantum gates, sensing, and probing fundamental physics like quantum gravity.
• What they did: The team used periodic optical initialization of NV centers in diamond to induce coherent motion in a levitated diamagnetic oscillator, achieving amplitudes over 100 nanometers.
• The result: This achievement enables the engineering of motional states in high-mass systems, opening pathways for quantum control and sensing at scales previously inaccessible.