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arXiv:2610.20487

Demonstration of a mobile ion-trap quantum device

Sara Alfaro, Dipesh Bhanushali, Sankarshan Choudapurkar, Ashwin Bhartia, Thomas Lafenthaler, Tommaso Faorlin, Yannick Weiser, Lorenz Panzl, Thomas Monz, Rainer Blatt, Giovanni Cerchiari

quant-phphysics.atom-phSubmitted Oct 14, 2026• Announced Oct 15, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

Trapped-ion devices are being investigated for transportable applications, including the transfer of exotic charged particles between laboratories and the development of portable quantum technologies. To date, ion transport has been demonstrated only in magnetic (Penning) traps, whereas radiofrequency (Paul) traps are the predominant platform in quantum science. Here, we report the first transport of a few thousand ions confined in a linear Paul trap over distances of several kilometers, with transport durations of 15 and 45 min. These results establish a foundation for mobile trapped-ion quantum devices capable of operating while in motion and may enable the transport of exotic ions in Paul traps between experimental facilities.

Comments
7 pages, 4 figures

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