Electronically Excited Cold Ion Crystals

Weibin Li and Igor Lesanovsky
Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 023003 – Published 11 January 2012

Abstract

The laser excitation of an ion crystal to high-lying and long-lived electronic states is a genuine many-body process even if in fact only a single ion is excited. This is a direct manifestation of the strong coupling between internal and external dynamics and becomes most apparent in the vicinity of a structural phase transition. Here we show that utilizing highly excited states offers a new approach to the coherent manipulation of ion crystals. This opens up a new route towards the creation of nonclassical motional states in a Paul trap and permits the study of quantum phenomena that rely on a strong coupling between electronic and vibrational dynamics.

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  • Received 17 August 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.023003

© 2012 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Weibin Li and Igor Lesanovsky

  • Midlands Ultracold Atom Research Centre (MUARC), School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom

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Issue

Vol. 108, Iss. 2 — 13 January 2012

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