Trapped electrons and ions as particle detectors

Abstract

Electrons and ions trapped with electromagnetic fields have long served as important high-precision metrological instruments, and more recently have also been proposed as a platform for quantum information processing. Here we point out that these systems can also be used as highly sensitive detectors of passing charged particles, due to the combination of their extreme charge-to-mass ratio and low-noise quantum readout and control. In particular, these systems can be used to detect energy depositions many orders of magnitude below typical ionization scales. As illustrations, we suggest some applications in particle physics. We outline a non-destructive time-of-flight measurement capable of sub-eV energy resolution for slowly moving, collimated particles. We also show that current devices can be used to provide competitive sensitivity to models where ambient dark matter particles carry small electric millicharges $\ll e$. Our calculations may also be useful in the characterization of noise in quantum computers coming from backgrounds of charged particles.

4 pages, 3 figures. v2: published version, now includes time-of-flight measurement application and more detailed comments on millicharged DM at q > 10^-5

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Cited by in corpus (16)

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• Feasibility study of quantum computing using trapped electrons
• A Helioscope for Gravitationally Bound Millicharged Particles
• DM-electron scattering in materials: sum rules and heterostructures
• Quantum entanglement of ions for light dark matter detection
• Mechanical detection of nuclear decays
• Relativistic Effects on Entangled Single-Electron Traps
• Search for Dark Matter Scattering from Optically Levitated Nanoparticles
• Millicharged Particles from the Heavens: Single- and Multiple-Scattering Signatures
• Strong coherent ion-electron coupling using a wire data bus
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• Searching for Dark Photons with Existing Haloscope Data
• Surface-induced decoherence and heating of charged particles
• Can millicharge be probed at future Super Tau Charm Facility via mono-${\pi }^0$ searches?