Cross-Kerr nonlinearity for phonon counting

State measurement of a quantum harmonic oscillator is essential in quantum optics and quantum information processing. In a system of trapped ions, we experimentally demonstrate the projective measurement of the state of the ions’ motional mode via an effective cross-Kerr coupling to another motional mode. This coupling is induced by the intrinsic nonlinearity of the Coulomb interaction between the ions. We spectroscopically resolve the frequency shift of the motional sideband of the first mode due to presence of single phonons in the second mode and use it to reconstruct the phonon number distribution of the second mode.