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Updated: Jan 3, 2026

Experimental Methods for Trapping Ions Using Microfabricated Surface Ion Traps
Published on: August 17, 2017
Phonon Pair Creation by Inflating Quantum Fluctuations in an Ion Trap
Matthias Wittemer1, Frederick Hakelberg1, Philip Kiefer1
1Physikalisches Institut, Universität Freiburg, Hermann-Herder-Straße 3, 79104 Freiburg, Germany.
Abstract:
Quantum theory predicts intriguing dynamics during drastic changes of external conditions. We switch the trapping field of two ions sufficiently fast to tear apart quantum fluctuations, i.e., create pairs of phonons and, thereby, squeeze the ions' motional state. This process can be interpreted as an experimental analog to cosmological particle creation and is accompanied by the formation of spatial entanglement. Hence, our platform allows one to study the causal connections of squeezing, pair creation, and entanglement and might permit one to cross-fertilize between concepts in cosmology and applications of quantum information processing.
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