Domain formation and structural stabilities in mixed-species Coulomb crystals induced by sympathetically cooled highly charged ions

authored by: L. A. Rüffert, E. A. Dijck, L. Timm, J. R.Crespo López-Urrutia, T. E. Mehlstäubler
Abstract: There is a growing interest in high-precision spectroscopy and frequency metrology for fundamental studies using sympathetically cooled highly charged ions (HCIs) embedded in Coulomb crystals of laser-cooled ions. In order to understand how their strong repulsion affects the crystal structure and dynamics, we study the thermal motion and rearrangement of small mixed linear and homogeneous crystals by both measurements and simulations. Cocrystallized HCIs form superlattices and divide the crystal into domains, where different reordering rates, melting points, and localized phase transitions are observed due to decoupling of motional modes across boundaries. These results improve our understanding of homogeneous and inhomogeneous ion strings over a wide range of charge-to-mass ratios. This allows us to test our own simulations of the dynamic behavior of ion strings and gives us confidence in their suitability for applications related to quantum simulation as well as computing and the search for new physics.
Organisation(s): Institute of Theoretical Physics
Institute of Quantum Optics
Laboratory of Nano and Quantum Engineering
External Organisation(s): Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt PTB
Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
Type: Article
Journal: Physical Review A
Volume: 110
No. of pages: 18
ISSN: 2469-9926
Publication date: 12.12.2024
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.110.063110 (Access: Closed)

BibTeX

@article{d425780784924ff79e886fd9d52f1b3e,
title = "Domain formation and structural stabilities in mixed-species Coulomb crystals induced by sympathetically cooled highly charged ions",
abstract = "There is a growing interest in high-precision spectroscopy and frequency metrology for fundamental studies using sympathetically cooled highly charged ions (HCIs) embedded in Coulomb crystals of laser-cooled ions. In order to understand how their strong repulsion affects the crystal structure and dynamics, we study the thermal motion and rearrangement of small mixed linear and homogeneous crystals by both measurements and simulations. Cocrystallized HCIs form superlattices and divide the crystal into domains, where different reordering rates, melting points, and localized phase transitions are observed due to decoupling of motional modes across boundaries. These results improve our understanding of homogeneous and inhomogeneous ion strings over a wide range of charge-to-mass ratios. This allows us to test our own simulations of the dynamic behavior of ion strings and gives us confidence in their suitability for applications related to quantum simulation as well as computing and the search for new physics.",
author = "R{\"u}ffert, {L. A.} and Dijck, {E. A.} and L. Timm and L{\'o}pez-Urrutia, {J. R.Crespo} and Mehlst{\"a}ubler, {T. E.}",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2024 American Physical Society.",
year = "2024",
month = dec,
day = "12",
doi = "10.1103/PhysRevA.110.063110",
language = "English",
volume = "110",
journal = "Physical Review A",
issn = "2469-9926",
publisher = "American Physical Society",
number = "6",
}