Experimental test of the Crooks fluctuation theorem in a single nuclear spin

We experimentally test the Crooks fluctuation theorem in a quantum spin system. Our results show that the Crooks fluctuation theorem is valid for different speeds of the nonequilibrium processes and under various effective temperatures. Work is not an observable in quantum systems, which makes tests of quantum thermodynamic theorems challenging. In this work, we develop high-fidelity single-shot readouts of a single nuclear spin in diamond and implement the two-point work measurement protocol, enabling a direct experimental test of the Crooks fluctuation theorem. Our results provide quantum insight into fluctuations and the methods we develop can be utilized to study other quantum thermodynamic theorems.