Towards (scalable) quantum simulations in ion traps

Experiments directed towards the development of an analogue quantum simulator based on trapped atomic magnesium ions are described. We report on the required initialization including ground state cooling of 25Mg+ ions for the first time—parallel to the group at NIST/Boulder. We discuss basic operations to implement quantum spin Hamiltonians like a one-dimensional quantum Ising model and some challenges to be addressed in reaching for larger scale and higher dimensional devices.

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