title: Observation of power-Law scaling for phase transitions in linear trapped ion crystals
abstract: We report an experimental confirmation of the power-law relationship between the critical anisotropy parameter and ion number for the linear-to-zigzag phase transition in an ionic crystal. Our experiment uses laser cooled calcium ions confined in a linear radio-frequency trap. Measurements for up to ten ions are in good agreement with theoretical and numeric predictions. Implications on an upper limit to the size of data registers in ion trap quantum computers are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Physics Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Enzer
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Schauer
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Gomez
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Gulley
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Holzscheiter
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Kwiat
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Lamoreaux
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Peterson
authors.initials: VD
authors.lastname: Sandberg
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tupa
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: White
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: James