Cold atom-ion systems in radiofrequency multipole traps: event-drive molecular dynamics and stochastic simulations

TL;DR

This study investigates the dynamics of ions in multipolar radiofrequency traps interacting with cold atomic gases, using molecular dynamics and stochastic simulations to analyze stability, energy relaxation, and motion.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive simulation approach combining event-driven and Langevin methods to analyze ion behavior in multipolar traps with various cold atomic samples.

Findings

Analysis of ion stability and lifetime in different trap configurations

Characterization of energy relaxation processes in cold atom-ion systems

Analytical relations between trap parameters and ion dynamics

Abstract

We have studied the general aspects of the dynamics of an ion trapped in an ideal multipolar radiofrequency trap while interacting with a dense cold atomic gas. In particular, we have explored the dynamical stability, the energy relaxation and the characteristic harmonic motion exhibited by a trapped Yb$^{+}$ ion in different multipolar potentials and immersed in various cold atomic samples (Li, Na, Rb, Yb). For this purpose, we used two different molecular dynamics simulations; one based on a time-event drive algorithm and the other based on the stochastic Langevin equation. Relevant values for experimental realizations, such as the associated ion's lifetimes and observable distributions, are presented along with some analytical expressions which relate the ion's dynamical properties with the trap parameters.