Ion Trap Simulations of Quantum Fields in an Expanding Universe

Abstract

We propose an experiment in which the phonon excitation of ion(s) in a trap, with a trap frequency exponentially modulated at rate $\kappa$, exhibits a thermal spectrum with an “Unruh” temperature given by $k_{B}T=\hslash \kappa$. We discuss the similarities of this experiment to the response of detectors in a de Sitter universe and the usual Unruh effect for uniformly accelerated detectors. We demonstrate a new Unruh effect for detectors that respond to antinormally ordered moments using the ion’s first blue sideband transition.