Quantum nanofriction in trapped ion chains with a topological defect

Abstract

Trapped ion systems constitute a well controllable scenario for the study and emulation of nanofriction, and in particular of Frenkel-Kontorova-like models. This is in particular the case when a topological defect is created in a zigzag ion Coulomb crystal, which results in an Aubry transition from free sliding to pinned phase as a function of the trap aspect ratio. We explore the quantum effects of the Aubry transition by means of an effective simplified model, in which the defect is treated like a single quantum particle that experiences an effective Peierls-Nabarro potential and a position-dependent mass. We demonstrate the relevance of quantum tunneling in a finite range of aspect ratios close the critical point, showing that the quantum effects may be observed in the kink dynamics for sufficiently low temperatures. Finally, we discuss the requirements to reveal quantum effects at the Aubry transition in future experiments on trapped ions.

7 pages, 6 figures

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• Structural defects in ion crystals by quenching the external potential: the inhomogeneous Kibble-Zurek mechanism
• Structural phase transitions in low-dimensional ion crystals
• Tuning friction atom-by-atom in an ion-crystal simulator
• Quantum zigzag transition in ion chains
• Frenkel-Kontorova model with cold trapped ions
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Cited by in corpus (6)

• Dynamics of quantum discommensurations in the Frenkel-Kontorova chain
• Heat transport in a Coulomb ion crystal with a topological defect
• Fractal ground state of ion chains in periodic potentials
• Quantum frustrated Wigner chains
• Sub-Doppler cooling of a trapped ion in a phase-stable polarization gradient
• Entanglement across sliding-pinned transition of ion chains in optical cavities