V. Roberdel 1 D. Leibfried 2 D. Ullmo 1 H. Landa 1, 3
Physical Review A, American Physical Society, 2018, 97 (5), 〈10.1103/PhysRevA.97.053419〉
We present a comprehensive phase-space treatment of the motion of charged particles in electrodynamic traps. Focusing on five-wire surface-electrode Paul traps, we study the details of integrable and chaotic motion of a single ion. We introduce appropriate phase-space measures and give a universal characterization of the trap effectiveness as a function of the parameters. We rigorously derive the commonly used (time-independent) pseudopotential approximation, quantify its regime of validity and analyze the mechanism of its breakdown within the time-dependent potential. The phase space approach that we develop gives a general framework for describing ion dynamics in a broad variety of surface Paul traps. To probe this framework experimentally, we propose and analyze, using numerical simulations, an experiment that can be realized with an existing four-wire trap. We predict a robust experimental signature of the existence of trapping pockets within a mixed regular and chaotic phase-space structure. Intricately rich escape dynamics suggest that surface traps give access to exploring microscopic Hamiltonian transport phenomena in phase space.
- 1. LPTMS – Laboratoire de Physique Théorique et Modèles Statistiques
- 2. NIST – National Institute of Standards and Technologies
- 3. IPHT – Institut de Physique Théorique – UMR CNRS 3681