The construction of entangling gates with individual addressing capability represents a crucial approach for implementing quantum computation in trapped-ion crystals. Conventional entangling gate schemes typically rely on laser beam wave vectors to couple the ions’ spin and motional degrees of freedom. Here, we experimentally demonstrate an alternative method that employs a polarization gradient field generated by a tightly focused laser beam—an approach theoretically proposed as the Magnus effect for quantum logic gate design [Mazzanti et al., Phys. Rev. Res. 5, 033036 (2023)]. Using this technique, we perform Raman operations on hyperfine qubits encoded in ${{}^{171}\mathrm{Yb}}^{+}$ ions, generating spin-dependent forces along axial motional modes in a linear trap. By utilizing an acousto-optic deflector to create arbitrary spot pairs for individual ion addressing in two-ion (four-ion) chains, we achieve Mølmer-Sørensen gates with Bell-state fidelities exceeding 98.7(1)% [and 97.2(4)%]. Further improvements in numerical aperture (NA) and laser power could reduce gate durations while enhancing fidelity by orders of magnitude. This method is compatible with—and can significantly simplify—optical tweezer gate proposals, where motional mode engineering enables scalable trapped-ion quantum computation. The technique can be readily extended to two-dimensional ion crystals, representing a key advancement toward large-scale trapped-ion quantum processors.

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• Coherent control
• Effects of atomic coherence on light propagation
• Quantum gates
• Structured light