title: Spin Peierls quantum phase transitions in Coulomb crystals.
abstract: The spin Peierls instability describes a structural transition of a crystal due to strong magnetic interactions. Here, we demonstrate that cold Coulomb crystals of trapped ions provide an experimental test bed in which to study this complex many-body problem and to access extreme regimes where the instability is triggered by quantum fluctuations alone. We present a consistent analysis based on different analytical and numerical methods, and we provide a detailed discussion of its experimental feasibility.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Theoretische Physik, Albert-Einstein Allee 11, Universität Ulm, 89069 Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bermudez
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Plenio