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Floquet prethermalization is observed in periodically driven quantum many-body systems where the system avoids heating and maintains a stable, non-equilibrium state, for extended periods. Here we introduce a novel quantum control method using off-resonance and short-angle excitation to significantly extend Floquet prethermal lifetimes. This is demonstrated on randomly positioned, dipolar-coupled, 13C nuclear spins in diamond, but the methodology is broadly applicable. We achieve a lifetime $T_2'~800 s at 100 K while tracking the transition to the prethermal state quasi-continuously. This corresponds to a >533,000-fold extension over the bare spin lifetime without prethermalization, and constitutes a new record both in terms of absolute lifetime as well as the total number of Floquet pulses applied (here exceeding 7 million). Using Laplace inversion, we develop a new form of noise spectroscopy that provides insights into the origin of the lifetime extension. Finally, we demonstrate applications of these extended lifetimes in long-time, reinitialization-free quantum sensing of time-varying magnetic fields continuously for ~10 minutes at room temperature. Our work facilitates new opportunities for stabilizing driven quantum systems through Floquet control, and opens novel applications for continuously interrogated, long-time responsive quantum sensors., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

Thermalization phenomena, while ubiquitous in quantum systems, have traditionally been viewed as obstacles to be mitigated. In this study, we demonstrate the ability, instead, to harness thermalization to dynamically engineer and stabilize structured quantum states in a mesoscopically large ensemble of spins. Specifically, we showcase the capacity to generate, control, stabilize, and read out 'shell-like' spin texture with interacting $ {}^{ 13}\mathrm{C}$ nuclear spins in diamond, wherein spins are polarized oppositely on either side of a critical radius. The texture spans several nanometers and encompasses many hundred spins. We capitalize on the thermalization process to impose a quasi-equilibrium upon the generated texture; as a result, it is highly stable, immune to spin diffusion, and endures over multiple-minute long periods -- over a million times longer than the intrinsic interaction scale of the spins. Additionally, the texture is created and interrogated without locally controlling or probing the nuclear spins. These features are accomplished using an electron spin as a nanoscale injector of spin polarization, and employing it as a source of spatially varying dissipation, allowing for serial readout of the emergent spin texture. Long-time stabilization is achieved via prethermalization to a Floquet-induced Hamiltonian under the electronic gradient field. Our work presents a new approach to robust nanoscale spin state engineering and paves the way for new applications in quantum simulation, quantum information science, and nanoscale imaging., Comment: 8 + 32 pages