Single two-level ion in an anharmonic-oscillator trap: Time evolution of theQfunction and population inversion

Abstract

We investigate the time evolution of the population inversion as well as the $Q$ function for center-of-mass motion for a two-level ion, interacting with single-mode laser light field, in an anharmonic-oscillator trap. The anharmonicities of the trap are quantified in terms of the deformation parameter of the $q$-analog trap. For $\ensuremath{\tau}=0.003$ ${(q=e}^{\ensuremath{\tau}})$ the collapses and revivals of population inversion become well-defined facilitating experimental observation, but for large $\ensuremath{\tau}\ensuremath{\sim}0.1$ the time dependence of population inversion is completely wiped out. The quasiprobability function shows an atypical behavior with a single peak at $t=0$ splitting up into as many as seven fragments (at $t=130$) during collapse and at a later time these segments come together to signal the revival of population inversion. A small degree of anharmonicity is seen to enhance the coherence of the ion-trap system, whereas for large $\ensuremath{\tau}$ ($\ensuremath{\sim}0.1$ in the present context) the coherence is completely lost.