Phase space study of surface electrode Paul traps: Integrable, chaotic, and mixed Motion

Published

May 31, 2018

Author(s)

V. Roberdel, Dietrich Leibfried, D. Ullmo, H. Landa

Abstract

We present a comprehensive phase space treatment of the motion of trapped particles in electrodynamic traps. Focusing on 5-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. For its experimental probing, we propose and analyze, using numerical simulations, an experiment that can be realized with an existing 4-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.

Citation

Physical Review A

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

chaotic motion, ion trap, phase space, regular motion, stability

Citation

Roberdel, V. , Leibfried, D. , Ullmo, D. and Landa, H. (2018), Phase space study of surface electrode Paul traps: Integrable, chaotic, and mixed Motion, Physical Review A, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=925780 (Accessed October 13, 2025)