A directly observable, Zeeman-insensitive nuclear spin coherence in solution

Abstract

Clock transitions are well known in atomic and solid-state systems, but are largely unexplored in molecular liquids. Here we demonstrate a clock-like, nuclear-spin avoided crossing in [1--$^{13}$C]-fumarate that supports long-lived and directly observable coherences at ultralow magnetic field: a three-spin transition $|S_0\alpha\rangle \leftrightarrow |T_{+1}\beta\rangle$ near 400 nT exhibits a shallow crossing with a frequency minimum of 2 Hz. The transition is first-order immune to magnetic field perturbations and displays a lifetime of 25 s, around three times the longest single-spin $T_2^*$. Sensitivity to effective pseudo-fields is also demonstrated, including the internal dipolar field of the sample.