Buffer-gas cooling of a single ion in a multipole radio frequency trap beyond the critical mass ratio

Abstract

We theoretically investigate the dynamics of a trapped ion immersed in a spatially localized buffer gas. For a homogeneous buffer gas, the ion reaches a stable equilibrium only if the mass ratio of the buffer gas atom to the ion is below a critical value. We show how this limitation can be overcome by using multipole traps and a spatially confined buffer gas. Using a generalized model for elastic collisions of the ion with the buffer gas atoms, the ion's energy distribution is derived for arbitrary buffer gas distributions and trap parameters. Three regimes characterized by the analytical form of the ion's energy distribution are found. Final ion temperatures down to the millikelvin regime can be achieved even for heavy buffer gases by actively controlling the size of the buffer gas or the trap voltage (forced sympathetic cooling).