Classical Mode Dyanmics for Trapped Ion Diagnostics

In this paper we consider two problems in diagnostics of trapped ion crystals in which an analysis of the ions’ collective oscillatory motion yield potentially useful results. When one of the ions in a linear crystal undergoes a collision, observation of the subsequent motion allows one to deduce the identity of which ion sustained the collision. When a linear ion crystal is formed with a dark impurity ion, analysis of the ions’ motion can identify the mass (and thus give an important clue to the species) of the impurity.