Noise-induced transport in the motion of trapped ions

TL;DR

This paper proposes an experiment to observe noise-induced transport in the vibrational modes of trapped ions, demonstrating how controlled dephasing can enhance excitation transport without requiring ground-state cooling.

Contribution

It introduces a method to induce and measure noise-enhanced transport in trapped ion chains using laser-controlled dephasing, applicable with minimal cooling requirements.

Findings

Dephasing broadens vibrational resonances, increasing transport.

Simulation shows effective transport enhancement in a three-ion chain.

Implementation scheme is feasible without ground-state cooling.

Abstract

The interplay of noise and quantum coherence in transport gives rise to rich dynamics relevant for a variety of systems. In this work, we put forward a proposal for an experiment testing noise-induced transport in the vibrational modes of a chain of trapped ions. We focus on the case of transverse modes, considering multiple-isotope chains and an "angle trap", where the transverse trapping varies along the chain. This variation induces localization of the motional modes and therefore suppresses transport. By suitably choosing the action of laser fields that couple to the internal and external degrees of freedom of the ions, we show how to implement effective local dephasing on the modes, broadening the vibrational resonances. This leads to an overlap of the local mode frequencies, giving rise to a pronounced increase in the transport of excitations along the chain. We propose an implementation and measurement scheme which require neither ground-state cooling nor low heating rates, and we illustrate our results with a simulation of the dynamics for a chain of three ions.