Abstract
Two ions confined to a radio-frequency trap and cooled by radiation pressure exhibit deterministic chaos. Theoretical analysis of the two-ion dynamics reveals that the route to chaos is due solely to ion-ion collisions. During a collision, the nonlinear Coulomb interaction introduces a transient instability, which gives way to stable single-particle-like motion as the ions move apart. The chaotic dynamics are characterized by a strange attractor that resembles a spiral galaxy.
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Brewer, R., Hoffnagle, J., DeVoe, R. et al. Collision-induced two-ion chaos. Nature 344, 305–309 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/344305a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/344305a0
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