Measurement of the Coulomb Logarithm in a Radio-Frequency Paul Trap

Samples of ultracold Yb-174(+) ions, confined in a linear radio-frequency Paul trap, are heated via micromotion interruption, while their temperature, density, and therefore structural phase are monitored and simulated. The observed time evolution of the ion temperature is compared to a theoretical model for ion-ion heating allowing a direct measurement of the Coulomb logarithm in a linear Paul trap. This result permits a simple, yet accurate, analytical description of ion cloud thermodynamic properties, e. g., density, temperature, and structural phase, as well as suggests limits to and improvements for ongoing trapped-ion quantum information efforts. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.173003