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  • Open Access

Quantum Simulation with Rydberg Ions in a Penning Trap

Wilson S. Martins1,2,*, Markus Hennrich3, Ferdinand Schmidt-Kaler4, and Igor Lesanovsky1,5,6

  • *Contact author: W.SantanaMartins@umb.edu
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PRX Quantum 7, 033064 – Published 22 September, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/lsny-pn24

Abstract

Quantum simulation of interacting many-body spin systems is routinely performed with cold trapped ions, and systems with hundreds of spins have been studied in one and two dimensions. In the most common realizations of these platforms, spin degrees of freedom are encoded in low-lying electronic levels, and interactions among the spins are mediated through crystal vibrations. Here we propose a new approach which enables the quantum simulation of two-dimensional spin systems with interaction strengths that are increased by orders of magnitude. This, together with the unprecedented longevity of trapped ions, opens an avenue for the exploration of phenomena that take place on long timescales, e.g., slow and collective relaxation in frustrated and kinetically constrained systems. Our platform makes use of the strong dipolar interactions among electronic Rydberg states and planar confinement provided by a Penning trap. We investigate how the strong electric and magnetic fields that form this trap affect the properties of the Rydberg states and show that spin-spin interaction strengths on the order of MHz are achievable under experimentally realistic conditions. As a brief illustration of the capabilities of this quantum simulator, we study the entanglement in a frustrated spin system realized by three ions.

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Popular Summary

Quantum simulators allow scientists to study complex materials through building clean and controllable model systems. Trapped ion crystals are a powerful platform for this purpose, but in a many-body setting their interactions—which are mediated through crystal vibrations—are usually weak and the build-up of quantum correlations is slow. We propose a new way to strongly enhance interactions by exciting ions to high-energy states, known as Rydberg states, while confining them in a two-dimensional crystal using a so-called Penning trap. This leads to the acceleration of interaction timescales by orders of magnitude. Our approach makes it possible to study intriguing collective quantum processes, such as frustration and glassy phenomena, that are difficult to access in existing experiments.

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PRX Quantum 7, 033064– Published 22 September, 2026
  • Received 19 January 2026
  • Revised 2 July 2026
  • Accepted 7 August 2026
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