Researchers used two signals to study the tiny center of a titanium atom. The result could help future quantum research, but it is not a working memory.
A tiny center with a magnetic property
An atom has a small center called its nucleus. Some nuclei have a property called spin, which gives them magnetic behavior. Spin does not mean they turn like spinning toys.
Hester G. Vennema, Cristina Mier and their colleagues detected changes in the nuclear spin of one titanium-47 atom sitting on a surface. Their study appeared in Nature Communications on October 24, 2026. It has passed peer review, although the journal has not yet released its final edited version. 1
Two signals do different jobs
The team used a scanning tunneling microscope. This tool places a sharp tip close to an atom and measures a tiny electrical current. It does not take an ordinary photograph of the nucleus. 2
The researchers sent two radio-frequency signals through the tip. One let them use the atom's electron response to read changes in the nucleus's spin states. Electrons are particles found around an atom's nucleus. The other signal drove changes between nuclear spin states. 2
At certain frequencies, the measured signal changed. This response is called nuclear magnetic resonance. It showed that the nucleus could respond even when its spin and the electron's spin were only weakly mixed. 1 2
Why this could help
Nuclear spins can be well protected from their surroundings. That makes them interesting candidates for quantum memories: devices that hold information in delicate quantum states. But protection also makes these spins harder to reach and read. This experiment offers a way to study that problem one atom at a time. 1
An earlier study, published in August 2025, read the nuclear spin of titanium-49, a different form of titanium. It measured a spin-state lifetime of several seconds using brief probes separated by quiet waiting periods. That was not a measurement of how long a complete quantum state stayed intact. 3
Important questions remain
The new experiment does not establish exactly how the signal drives the nucleus. The authors discuss possible explanations, but cannot yet choose one with confidence. 2
It also does not demonstrate a working quantum memory. Such a memory must preserve coherence: the relationship between the wave-like parts of a quantum state. Measuring that coherence and showing precise, coherent control of the nuclear spin remain future work. 2
The achievement is narrower but useful: a new way to drive and detect nuclear-spin changes in a single surface atom. 2
Read the research
[1] Vennema and colleagues — Nuclear magnetic resonance on a single atom with a local probe
[2] Vennema and colleagues — Peer-reviewed accepted manuscript
[3] Stolte and colleagues — Single-shot readout of the nuclear spin of an on-surface atom
The main study is peer-reviewed accepted research shared before final editing. Its final journal version may receive further changes.