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Realization of trapped ion dynamics in the strong-field regime and non-Markovianity

Kamran Rehan1,2,3,*, Hengchao Tu2, Tadeu Tassis4,5, Menglin Zou2, Zihan Yin2, Jing-Ning Zhang1, Fernando L. Semião4,†, and Kihwan Kim1,2,6,7,8,‡

  • *Contact author: krehan2010@yahoo.com
  • †Contact author: semiao@gmail.com
  • ‡Contact author: kimkihwan@ibs.re.kr
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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 033214 – Published 20 August, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/r8dp-52s2

Abstract

We experimentally investigate trapped ion dynamics in the strong-driving regime, where the Rabi frequency Ω is comparable to the vibrational mode frequency ν. In the conventional weak-driving regime (Ω≪ν), the dynamics is well described by effective Hamiltonians for the carrier and motional sidebands, associated with detunings δ=nν (n=0,±1,...). In the strong-driving regime (Ω∼ν), these interactions can no longer be treated independently. We characterize this physics through the reduced dynamics of the qubit, where non-Markovian behavior emerges as an operational probe of the spin-motion coupling. We observe a structured non-Markovian response, with well-defined maxima that follow the generalized resonance condition δ2+Ω2=ν2, reflecting the strong underlying spin-motion hybridization characteristic of the strong-driving regime.

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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 033214– Published 20 August, 2026
  • Received 14 October 2025
  • Revised 8 May 2026
  • Accepted 20 July 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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