We show how a single trapped ion may be used to test a variety of important physical models realized as time-dependent harmonic oscillators. The ion itself functions as its own motional detector through laser-induced electronic transitions. Alsing et al., [Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 220401 (2005)] proposed that an exponentially decaying trap frequency could be used to simulate (thermal) Gibbons-Hawking radiation in an expanding universe, but the Hamiltonian used was incorrect. We apply our general solution to this experimental proposal, correcting the result for a single ion and showing that while the actual spectrum is different from the Gibbons-Hawking case, it nevertheless shares an important experimental signature with this result.
We show how a single trapped ion may be used to test a variety of important physical models realized as time-dependent harmonic oscillators. The ion itself functions as its own motional detector through laser-induced electronic transitions. Alsing et al., [Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 220401 (2005)] proposed that an exponentially decaying trap frequency could be used to simulate (thermal) Gibbons-Hawking radiation in an expanding universe, but the Hamiltonian used was incorrect. We apply our general solution to this experimental proposal, correcting the result for a single ion and showing that while the actual spectrum is different from the Gibbons-Hawking case, it nevertheless shares an important experimental signature with this result.
In this article I review some results obtained during my PhD work in the group of Professor Messina, at the University of Palermo. I discuss some proposals aimed at exploring fundamental issues of quantum theory, e.g. entanglement and quantum superpositions, in the context of single trapped ions. This physical context turns out to be extremely well suited both for studying fundamental features of quantum mechanics, such as the quantum–classical border, and for technological applications such as quantum logic gates and quantum registers. I focus on some procedures for engineering nonclassical states of the vibrational motion of the centre of mass of the ion. I consider both the case in which the ion interacts with classical laser beams and the case of interaction with a quantized mode of light. In particular, I discuss the generation of Schrodinger cat-like states, Bell states and Greenberger–Horn–Zeilinger states. The schemes for generating nonclassical states stem from two different quantum processes: the parity effect and the quantum state manipulation via quantum non-demolition measurement. Finally, I consider a microscopic theory of the interaction of a quantum harmonic oscillator (the centre of mass of the ion in the trapped ion context) with a bosonic thermal environment. Using an exact approach to the dynamics, I discuss a quantum theory of heating of trapped ions able to describe both the short time non-Markovian regime and the thermalization process. I conclude showing briefly how the trapped ion systems can be used as simulators of key models of open quantum systems such as the Caldeira–Leggett model.
Following the paper by Combescure [Ann. Phys. (N.Y.) 204, 113 (1990)], we apply the quantum singular time-dependent oscillator model to describe the relative one-dimensional motion of two ions in a trap. We argue that the model can be justified for low-energy excited states with the quantum numbers $n\ensuremath{\ll}{n}_{\mathrm{max}}\ensuremath{\sim}100$, provided the dimensionless constant characterizing the strength of the repulsive potential is large enough ${g}_{*}\ensuremath{\sim}{10}^{5}$. Time-dependent Gaussian-like wave packets generalizing odd coherent states of the harmonic oscillator and excitation number eigenstates are constructed. We show that the relative motion of the ions, in contradistinction to its center-of-mass counterpart, is extremely sensitive to the time dependence of the binding harmonic potential since the large value of g∗ results in a significant amplification of the transition probabilities between energy eigenstate even for slow time variations of the frequency.
A response to Pikovski et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett., 2026), who predict that a trapped ion in a motional superposition will exhibit measurable clock-transition blurring, interpreted as evidence that time itself exists in quantum superposition. We show that the identical observable arises in a framework where the tick rate is set by the local amplitude of a decaying background field (Zuhars, The Self-Interacting Universe, 2026). The ion's motional wavepacket samples different background amplitudes at different spatial positions, producing the same phase spread without requiring time to be a quantum observable. The two interpretations make a distinguishable experimental prediction: varying the trap frequency while holding the quantum state fixed produces different scaling in the two frameworks. We identify the specific signature and propose the test.
Actually it is possible to trap single ions in Paul or Penning traps, charged particles are confined in space via electromagnetic fields. A trapped ion can have a lot vibrational energy which is undesirable in some applications. In this thesis, starting from the Hamiltonian of a trapped ion in a harmonic potential, it is shown that is possible to get Jaynes-Cummings and anti- Jaynes- Cummings¬like transitions in the intermediate intensity regime, that is, adjusting the intensity of the laser that induce the coupling between the intemal and vibrational states of the ion proportionally to the vibrational frequency of the ion; these transitions are useful because make possible to extract the vibrational energy. In our treatment we consider that the ion and the laser are in resonance what eliminate the need of using tuned lasers.\nAlso, the problem of a trapped ion in a trap with time-dependent parameters interacting with a laser field is analyzed. By using a set of time-dependent unitary transformations is shown that this system is equivalent to the interaction between a quantized field and a two level system with time dependent parameters. The Hamiltonian is linearized in such a way that can be solved with methods that are found in some papers and that involve time-dependent parameters. The linearization is free of approximations and assumptions on the parameters of the system as are, for instance, the Lamb-Dicke parameter, the time-dependency of the frequency trap and the detuning, with what we can obtain the best solution for this kind of sytem.
The time evolution of a single particle in a harmonic trap with time-dependent frequency $\ensuremath{\omega}(t)$ has been well studied. Nevertheless, here we show that when the harmonic trap is opened (or closed) as a function of time while keeping the adiabatic parameter $\ensuremath{\mu}=[d\ensuremath{\omega}(t)/dt]/{\ensuremath{\omega}}^{2}(t)$ fixed, a sharp transition from an oscillatory to a monotonic exponential dynamics occurs at $\ensuremath{\mu}=2$. At this transition point, the time evolution has an exceptional point (EP) at all instants. This situation, where an EP of a time-dependent Hermitian Hamiltonian is obtained at any given time, is very different from other known cases. In the present case, we show that the order of the EP depends on the set of observables used to describe the dynamics. Our finding is relevant to the dynamics of a single ion in a magnetic, optical, or rf trap, and of diluted gases of ultracold atoms in optical traps.
A trapped-ion harmonic oscillator represents a rich and well-controlled platform for tests of quantum physics, with applications to quantum simulations, quantum sensing, and quantum information processing. Owing to its net charge, the ion's motion is affected by changes in the electric potential. Consequently, electric field and potential curvature noise will limit the coherence of the ion's harmonic oscillation. While in some respects, this serves as a limitation in the performance of the trapped ion system (for example, in the fidelity of two-qubit gates or quantum simulations with motional quanta), it also opens an opportunity to use the ion as a precise field sensor and to use engineered quantum states of motion to enhance the sensitivity to these fields beyond the standard quantum limit (SQL). This thesis describes the implementation of such applications on a single beryllium ion confined in a Paul trap. In the thesis, I present the theory of an ideal harmonic oscillator and the implementation of this system using the motion of a single trapped ion, including producing special quantum states of motion; these states include the energy eigenstates of the harmonic oscillator, called number states, up to n=100, superpositions of number states of the form (1/√2)(|0> + |n>), with n up to 18, and coherently displaced number states with an average occupation up to approximately 300. I describe how we use these quantum states of motion for precise sensing of fluctuations of the harmonic oscillator frequency. The sensitivity of the (1/√2)(|0> + |n>) state ideally follows the 1/n Heisenberg scaling for frequency sensitivity. Additionally, I describe investigations of the spectrum of motional frequency noise using a series of coherent displacements of the motion of the ion, with features similar to Ramsey and dynamical decoupling sequences for two-level systems. While these displaced states don't improve sensitivity over the SQL, they can be simply and rapidly implemented with trapped ions. I discuss extensions to all of these experiments, including to multiple ions in a new trap designed to confine 3 or 4 ions in individually tunable potential wells.