NOISE-INDUCED FLUCTUATIONS IN 2-ION SYSTEMS DRIVEN BY LIGHT-BEAMS

The dynamics of a system composed of two strongly coupled ions trapped in a time-dependent potential well and cooled by a laser beam is studied. In the present classical treatment the photon-ion interaction is simulated with an effective noise acting on the ions, which produces a stochastic transfer of momentum. The existence of noise-induced fluctuations in the regime where previous analysis indicated that the two-ion system dynamics was stable is discussed.