On the Global Dynamic Behavior of Trapped Ions in a Thermal Environment

Strings of ions confined in a radio-frequency trap represent a promising architecture for quantum computers. The ions can be considered as an ensemble of harmonic oscillators, interacting through the Coulomb repulsion, and subject to the influence of the external environment, here represented by an electromagnetic field. In this view, the system is regarded as an open quantum system. By decomposing the oscillations into normal modes, a quantum master equation can be derived, which is of paramount importance to study quantum phenomena such as decoherence and entanglement. The solution of the master equation, gives information about the thermal equilibrium state, the energy distribution and the dynamical behavior of the trapped ions.