Trapped-ion crystals and ultracold gases have transformed the way we explore quantum physics. The Ions Lab studies the quantum properties of these systems, both separately and in combination, using a new experimental apparatus in which barium ions and lithium atoms can be trapped together to investigate their mutual interactions.
The main goal is to advance trapped-ion and ultracold-atom technology toward three outcomes: improved ion clocks, new platforms for quantum simulation, and quantum sensing schemes. Atom-ion interactions in the ultracold regime also provide an ideal setting to study non-equilibrium dynamics of quantum systems with localized impurities, where an ion plays the role of a controllable impurity embedded in an atomic bath.
The INRiM laboratory is based in Sesto Fiorentino, hosted at LENS (European Laboratory for Non-linear Spectroscopy). The activity is supported by competitive funding, including ERC, SIR and FARE programs of the Italian Research Ministry and projects funded through Euramet/EMPIR.
The work includes the development of trapping, cooling and detection techniques for both species, as well as the study of elastic and inelastic collision processes that determine achievable temperatures and coherence times. Understanding and controlling these processes is essential to reach the regime where atom-ion mixtures can be used as scalable quantum resources.
The group’s results feed into INRiM’s broader program on quantum technologies, complementing optical and microwave frequency standards and contributing to hybrid approaches where metrology, simulation and sensing share common enabling tools.