Coulomb crystallization of xenon highly charged ions in a laser-cooled Ca$^+$ matrix
We report on the sympathetic cooling and Coulomb crystallization of xenon highly charged ions (HCIs) with laser-cooled Ca$^+$ ions. The HCIs are produced in a compact electron beam ion trap, then charge selected, decelerated, and finally injected into a cryogenic linear Paul trap. There, they are captured into $^{40}$Ca$^+$ Coulomb crystals, and co-crystallized within them, causing dark voids in their fluorescence images. Fine control over the number of trapped ions and HCIs allows us to realize mixed-species crystals with arbitrary ordering patterns. By investigating Xe$^{q+}$--Ca$^+$ strings, we confirm the HCI charge states, measure their lifetime and characterize the mixed-species motional modes. Our system effectively combines the established quantum control toolbox for Ca$^+$ with the rich set of atomic properties of Xe highly charged ions, providing a resourceful platform for optical frequency metrology, searches for signatures of new physics, and quantum information science.
Authors
- J. R. Crespo López-Urrutia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2937-8037)
- Thomas Pfeifer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5312-3747)
- Giovanni Barontini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1464-562X)
- Alexander Wilzewski
- Aaron Asael Smith
- Lakshmi P. Kozhiparambil Sajith (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4621-5003)
- S. D. Worm (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3865-4996)
- Piet O. Schmidt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0773-5889)
- Christian Warnecke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5826-4135)
- Vera Guarrera (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1251-096X)
- Elwin Dijck (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0602-6194)
- Kostas Georgiou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-6006-0388)
- Malte Wehrheim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-4327-2616)
- Vincent Boyer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6900-8786)
- Mengjiao Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6904-9150)
- Matthias Keller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3160-7396)
- L. Prokhorov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0869-185X)
- Ullrich Schwanke
- Cigdem Issever
- Laura Blackburn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4746-7009)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ArXiv.org
- Published
- 2025-01-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3204/pubdb-2025-05741
- Primary Topic
- Atomic and Molecular Physics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00