Mesoscopic superpositions of vibronic collective states of N trapped ions

Abstract

We propose a scalable procedure to generate entangled superpositions of motional coherent states and electronic states in N trapped ions. Beyond their fundamental importance, these states may be of interest for quantum information processing and may be used in experimental studies of decoherence.

Final version, as published in Physical Review Letters. See also further developments and applications in quant-ph/0202072