Speeding up adiabatic ion transport in macroscopic multi-Penning-trap stacks for high-precision experiments

Area of Science:

• Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
• Quantum Information Science
• Precision Measurements

Background:

• Multi-Penning traps are crucial for high-precision physics tests, including atomic mass and symmetry measurements.
• Current methods involve ion transport between trap regions, causing measurement dead time and ion motion heating.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and demonstrate a procedure for reducing adiabatic single-ion transport duration in macroscopic multi-Penning-trap stacks.
• To minimize measurement dead time and ion heating during ion transport in Penning trap experiments.

Main Methods:

• Utilized custom ion-transport waveforms and electronic filter predistortion.
• Analyzed transport adiabaticity of laser-cooled 9Be+ ions using stimulated Raman spectroscopy.
• Measured Doppler-broadened sideband spectra to quantify ion heating.

Main Results:

• Achieved an average heating of 2.6 ± 4.0 quanta per transport for ion transport times between 7 and 15 ms.
• Demonstrated a procedure that can potentially reduce ion transport times by up to three orders of magnitude.

Conclusions:

• The developed techniques significantly reduce ion transport times in multi-Penning traps.
• These advancements are essential for implementing quantum logic spectroscopy in Penning trap experiments and improving fundamental physics tests.