Homogeneous Linear Ion Crystal in a Hybrid Potential

TL;DR

This paper explores the properties of a linear ion crystal in a hybrid quadratic-quartic potential, demonstrating enhanced uniformity and analyzing phase transitions, with implications for experimental studies of Coulomb crystals.

Contribution

It introduces a hybrid potential model for ion crystals, showing improved uniformity and providing numerical analysis of phase transitions consistent with prior findings.

Findings

Uniform ion distribution can be increased in hybrid potentials.

Critical conditions for zigzag transition are numerically determined.

Results align with previous theoretical and experimental studies.

Abstract

We investigate the properties of a linear ion crystal in a combination of quadratic and quartic potentials. Both the discrete and the continuous model are employed to explore the homogeneity of a linear ion crystal by controlling the proportional parameter between the quadratic and quartic components. It is found that a uniform ion distribution in such a hybrid potential can be made larger than that in a purely quadratic or quartic potential. The zigzag transition is also investigated in the hybrid potential. Its critical condition and phase diagram are determined numerically, which agrees well with previous theoretical and experimental results. This paves the way for experimental investigation of phase transition in a large linear coulomb crystal.