Xi-Wang Luo

Advances in research such as quantum information and quantum chemistry require subtle methods for trapping particles (including ions, neutral atoms, molecules, etc.). Here we propose a hybrid ion trapping method by combining a Paul trap with optical tweezers. The trap combines the advances of the deep-potential feature for the Paul trap and the micromotion-free feature for the optical dipole trap. By modulating the optical-dipole trap synchronously with the radio frequency voltage of the Paul trap, the alternating electrical force in the trap center is fully counteracted, and the micromotion temperature of a cold trapped ion can reach the order of nK while the trap depth is beyond 300K. These features will enable cold collisions between an ion and an atom in the $s$-wave regime and stably trap the produced molecular ion in the cold hybrid system. This will provide a unique platform for probing the interactions between the ions and the surrounding neutral particles and enable the investigation of new reaction pathways and reaction products in the cold regime.

Triply degenerate points (TDPs), which correspond to new types of topological semimetals, can support novel quasiparticles possessing effective integer spins while preserving Fermi statistics. Here by mapping the momentum space to the parameter space of a three-level system in a trapped ion, we experimentally explore the transitions between different types of TDPs driven by spin-tensor--momentum couplings. We observe the phase transitions between TDPs with different topological charges by measuring the Berry flux on a loop surrounding the gap-closing lines, and the jump of the Berry flux gives the jump of the topological charge (up to a $2π$ factor) across the transitions. For the Berry flux measurement, we employ a new method by examining the geometric rotations of both spin vectors and tensors, which lead to a generalized solid angle equal to the Berry flux. The controllability of multi-level ion offers a versatile platform to study high-spin physics and our work paves the way to explore novel topological phenomena therein.

In cold atomic systems, fast and high-resolution microscopy of individual atoms is crucial, since it can provide direct information on the dynamics and correlations of the system. Here, we demonstrate nanosecond-scale two-dimensional stroboscopic pictures of a single trapped ion beyond the optical diffraction limit, by combining the main idea of ground-state depletion microscopy with quantum state transition control in cold atoms. We achieve a spatial resolution up to 175~nm using an NA = 0.1 objective in the experiment, which represents a more than tenfold improvement compared with direct fluorescence imaging. To show the potential of this method, we apply it to observe the secular motion of the trapped ion, we demonstrate a temporal resolution up to 50~ns with a displacement detection sensitivity of 10~nm. Our method provides a powerful tool for probing particle positions, momenta, and correlations, as well as their dynamics in cold atomic systems.