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Ph.D. Thesis - Physics

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Using the expression for ωˆr derived from Eq. 5.3,<br />

x1sd 2 ≈ Ω 2 mr4 1Q2 8πǫ0V 2 . (5.5)<br />

Q1<br />

When Q1 is not equal to Q2, then the confining forces are characterized by different ωˆr<br />

and the two ions have different offsets from equilibrium. The ratio in offsets, if the masses<br />

are comparable (m1 ≈ m2), should be (Q2/Q1) 2 . We observed exactly such an asymmetry<br />

between the offsets of the two ions, where typically Q2/Q1 is between 1 and 5. There may<br />

be additional small asymmetries due to edge effects and the presence of the 4-rod trap as<br />

well as differences in charge. Fig. 5-14 shows the displacement of a pair of ions as the rf<br />

drive frequency is varied, for one experimental run. The spread in charge to mass ratios and<br />

accordingly unknown values of Q and m for each ion (as in Ref. [PLB + 06]) does not permit<br />

us to compare the observed repulsion to a theoretical model. Indeed, if these data were<br />

available, this repulsion experiment would be a very useful way to measure the screening<br />

factor s for a given trap, perhaps prior to trapping atomic ions.<br />

We conclude that ion-ion interaction in a mm-scale lattice trap is observable by the<br />

mutual Coulomb repulsion of macroions. Such an experiment could be used to measure<br />

the screening parameter s for a given trap, if knowledge of the charges and masses of the<br />

individual particles involved were available. Although we have been able to measure the ion-<br />

ion interaction of macroions and fit it to a model (in a certain region of parameter space),<br />

it will be necessary to scale the trap down further in order to observe ion-ion interactions<br />

between the atomic ions that would be used for quantum simulation.<br />

5.6 Scaling laws for the simulated interactions in lattice traps<br />

The lattice trap discussed in this chapter provides a fairly straightforward method for real-<br />

izing a two-dimensional array of trapped ions. The first two steps enumerated in Sec. 4.3.3,<br />

design and testing of the trap, have now been reported. We turn now to evaluation of<br />

the trap design, and ask: how useful could this system be for quantum simulation of two-<br />

dimensional spin models [PC04b]? We will need to calculate both the motional coupling<br />

rate ωex, and the simulated coupling rate J.<br />

5.6.1 Motional coupling rate<br />

We begin with the motional coupling rate, which is the rate at which two coupled ions swap<br />

motional states (provided they have the same secular frequency). Let us review the basic<br />

physics of the system formed by two trapped ions undergoing mutual Coulomb repulsion.<br />

The lowest-order term in the Taylor expansion of the Coulomb potential that contains an<br />

interaction between the ions is<br />

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