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My main research is on utilising quantum sensors for the detection of dark matter candidates, such as axion-like particles. The signals to detect are absurdly small, hence sensors with exquisite sensitivities are required to attempt to probe for these elusive particles. Compared to classical sensing, the unique quantum resources of superposition and entanglement give quantum sensing the potential to expose these faint signals. Many of the current terrestrial bounds on axion-fermion couplings in the low-mass regime are indeed set by spin-based experiments, such as comagnetometers.

My choice of spin system is the nitrogen-vacancy centre in diamond, which has an electron spin. These have several interesting advantages. Firstly, they have the longest coherence times of solid-state spins at room temperature. At low temperatures, these coherence times elongate further. Secondly, since the nitrogen atom contains a nuclear spin, diamond is full of one-to-one electron-spin nuclear-spin pairs, which allows for creative measurement design. The ultimate goal is to exploit these properties to improve the bounds on dark matter candidates.

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