Sympathetic laser cooling is a key concept in precision spectroscopy and quantum state control of charged particles. Significant challenges arise in the metrologically relevant case where the effective interaction between the particles is weak and the particle to be cooled exhibits significant initial motional energy. Here we specifically address the most generally applicable case where the laser-cooled ion and the particle of interest are confined to two spatially separate potential wells with equal motional frequency for resonant enhancement of the cooling dynamics. We analyze the latter through numerical simulations and find that anharmonicities of the potential wells can prevent maintaining the resonance condition throughout the cooling process and thus inhibit a significant reduction in motional energy. We propose a cooling scheme that sweeps the trapping frequency of the potential wells. We show that this scheme enables efficient cooling from cryogenic temperatures all the way to the quantum regime of motion. As a specific application scenario, we analyze the sympathetic cooling of (anti-)protons into the quantum regime of motion for quantum-logic-spectroscopy-based tests of CPT invariance at the quantum limit in Penning traps. Nevertheless, our results and cooling strategies are generally applicable to other laser-inaccessible ion species.
Sympathetic laser cooling is a key concept in precision spectroscopy and quantum state control of charged particles. Significant challenges arise in the metrologically relevant case where the effective interaction between the particles is weak and the particle to be cooled exhibits significant initial motional energy. Here we specifically address the most generally applicable case where the laser-cooled ion and the particle of interest are confined to two spatially separate potential wells with equal motional frequency for resonant enhancement of the cooling dynamics. We analyze the latter through numerical simulations and find that anharmonicities of the potential wells can prevent maintaining the resonance condition throughout the cooling process and thus inhibit a significant reduction in motional energy. We propose a cooling scheme that sweeps the trapping frequency of the potential wells. We show that this scheme enables efficient cooling from cryogenic temperatures all the way to the quantum regime of motion. As a specific application scenario, we analyze the sympathetic cooling of (anti-)protons into the quantum regime of motion for quantum-logic-spectroscopy-based tests of CPT invariance at the quantum limit in Penning traps. Nevertheless, our results and cooling strategies are generally applicable to other laser-inaccessible ion species.
Abstract Sympathetic laser cooling is a key concept in precision spectroscopy and quantum state control of charged particles. Significant challenges arise in the metrologically relevant case where the effective interaction between the particles is weak and the particle to be cooled exhibits significant initial motional energy. Here we specifically address the most generally applicable case where the laser-cooled ion and the particle of interest are confined to two spatially separate potential wells with equal motional frequency for resonant enhancement of the cooling dynamics. We analyze the latter through numerical simulations and find that anharmonicities of the potential wells can prevent maintaining the resonance condition throughout the cooling process and thus inhibit a significant reduction in motional energy. We propose a cooling scheme that sweeps the trapping frequency of the potential wells. We show that this scheme enables efficient cooling from cryogenic temperatures all the way to the quantum regime of motion. As a specific application scenario, we analyze the sympathetic cooling of (anti-)protons into the quantum regime of motion for quantum logic spectroscopy-based tests of charge-parity-time invariance at the quantum limit in Penning traps. Nevertheless, our results and cooling strategies are generally applicable to other laser-inaccessible ion species.
Abstract Efficient cooling of trapped charged particles is essential in many fundamental physics experiments, for high-precision metrology, and for quantum technology. Until now, ion-ion coupling for sympathetic cooling or quantum state control has been limited to ion species with accessible optical transitions or has required close-range Coulomb interactions. To overcome this limitation and further develop scalable quantum control techniques, there has been a sustained desire to extend laser-cooling techniques to particles in macroscopically separated traps, opening quantum control techniques to previously inaccessible particles such as highly charged ions, molecular ions, and antimatter particles. Here, we demonstrate sympathetic cooling of a single proton by laser cooled Be+ ions stored in a spatially separated Penning trap. The two traps are connected by a superconducting LC circuit that enables energy exchange over a distance of 9 cm. We simultaneously demonstrate the cooling of a resonant mode of a macroscopic LC circuit with laser-cooled ions and sympathetic cooling of an individually trapped proton, reaching temperatures far below the environment temperature. Importantly, as this technique does not rely on the direct Coulomb interaction but rather on image-current interactions, it can be easily applied to an experiment with antiprotons, facilitating improved precision in matter-antimatter comparisons and dark matter searches.
Current precision experiments with single (anti)protons to test CPT symmetry progress at a rapid pace, but are complicated by the need to cool particles to sub-thermal energies. We describe a cryogenic Penning-trap setup for 9Be+ ions designed to allow coupling of single (anti)protons to laser-cooled atomic ions for sympathetic cooling and quantum logic spectroscopy. We report on trapping and laser cooling of clouds and single 9Be+ ions. We discuss prospects for a microfabricated trap to allow coupling of single (anti)protons to laser-cooled 9Be+ ions for sympathetic laser cooling to sub-mK temperatures on ms time scales.
Abstract Cooling and detection schemes using laser cooling and methods of quantum logic can contribute to high precision CPT symmetry tests in the baryonic sector. This work introduces an experiment to sympathetically cool protons and antiprotons using the Coulomb interaction with a ion trapped in a nearby but separate potential well. We have designed and set up an apparatus to show such coupling between two identical ions for the first time in a Penning trap. In this paper, we present evidence for successful loading and Doppler cooling of clouds and single ions. Our coupling scheme has applications in a range of high-precision measurements in Penning traps and has the potential to substantially improve motional control in these experiments.
High precision comparisons of the proton and antiproton g-factor enable stringent tests of CPT symmetry in the baryonic sector. However, current measurement routines suffer from long preparation times and high particle temperatures, which complicate the increase of the precision beyond the parts per billion regime. As a solution, new sympathetic cooling schemes based on co-trapped laser-cooled ions may be used to cool (anti-)protons to the ground state of motion and to significantly decrease particle preparation times. In addition, motional coupling to an auxiliary ion in a double-well potential can be used for the implementation of new readout schemes based on quantum logic spectroscopy for the spin-state of the (anti-)protons. This thesis describes a cryogenic Penning trap system for ground state cooling of single 9Be+ ions, which represents the latest development of the BASE experiment in Hannover towards the implementation of sympathetic cooling schemes and quantum logic spectroscopy of single (anti-)protons. Furthermore, the setup and implementation of lasers systems at 313nm for Doppler cooling, repumping and Raman interactions are described. To this end, an optical platform for laser beam delivery to the vacuum system and an optical phase-locked loop for the stabilization of the relative phase of two lasers at 313 nm are presented. In this work, the laser systems are used for measurements of the optical resonance frequencies for cooling, probing and repumping of 9Be+ ions. In addition, stimulated Raman transitions are demonstrated using two phase-locked lasers at 313nm. In the following, this technique is used for high-precision measurements of the qubit frequency and the magnetic field, as well as themometry measurements with 9Be+ ions. The temperature of the ions after Doppler cooling is measured as a function of the cooling laser parameters and a minimal axial mode temperature of 1.77(10) mK is obtained. The results of this thesis pave the way for sideband spectroscopy and ground state cooling of single 9Be+ ions in Penning traps, which is an essential prerequisite for sympathetic ground state cooling of single (anti-)protons and the application of quantum logic spectroscopy to (anti-)proton g-factor measurements in the future.
Efficient cooling of trapped charged particles is essential to many fundamental physics experiments1,2, to high-precision metrology3,4 and to quantum technology5,6. Until now, sympathetic cooling has required close-range Coulomb interactions7,8, but there has been a sustained desire to bring laser-cooling techniques to particles in macroscopically separated traps5,9,10, extending quantum control techniques to previously inaccessible particles such as highly charged ions, molecular ions and antimatter. Here we demonstrate sympathetic cooling of a single proton using laser-cooled Be+ ions in spatially separated Penning traps. The traps are connected by a superconducting LC circuit that enables energy exchange over a distance of 9 cm. We also demonstrate the cooling of a resonant mode of a macroscopic LC circuit with laser-cooled ions and sympathetic cooling of an individually trapped proton, reaching temperatures far below the environmental temperature. Notably, as this technique uses only image–current interactions, it can be easily applied to an experiment with antiprotons1, facilitating improved precision in matter–antimatter comparisons11 and dark matter searches12,13.