Abstract
In the fourth lesson, we showed how to excite and detect coherent states of ion motion in a harmonic trap. We analyzed the Rabi oscillations of an ion in a coherent state and, in this context, rediscovered the phenomenon of signal collapse and resurgence, already described in the context of cavity electrodynamics. We analyzed an experiment for preparing and detecting superpositions of coherent states, known as Schrödinger cats. We then recalled how artificial environments for the vibrational state of a trapped ion could be realized, in the presence of controlled spontaneous qubit emission. We applied this method by describing laser excitation schemes "protecting" specific states (see also lecture 2004-2005).
