Kenji Toyoda: System of local phonons in a trapped-ion crystal for quantum simulations

Abstract:
"In this talk, I will give an overview on our recent progress on using local phonons in a trapped-ion crystal for applications to quantum simulations. Local vibrational modes in trapped ions offer a viewpoint complementary to the more fundamental concept of collective vibrational modes, and enable us to realize quantum particle systems based on phonons, such as non-interacting bosonic or interacting polaritonic systems. I will mention quantum walks of a single phonon, as well as the realization of an interacting polaritonic system by illuminating sideband optical pulses. The latter includes such topics as the confirmation of the mutual repulsion between polaritons, the determination of the detailed states of polaritons, and the fine mechanical control of polaritons using optical fields."