Electronically excited cold ion crystals

TL;DR

This paper explores how laser excitation of cold ion crystals to high electronic states enables new coherent control methods and quantum simulations by leveraging strong internal-external coupling, especially near structural phase transitions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach using highly excited electronic states for coherent manipulation and quantum simulation of ion crystals.

Findings

High-lying electronic states facilitate strong internal-external coupling.

Excitation near phase transitions enhances control over ion dynamics.

Potential for simulating molecular processes in ion traps.

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 permits the study of phenomena which rely on a strong coupling between electronic and vibrational dynamics and opens up a route towards the quantum simulation of molecular processes in a Paul trap.