GENERATION OF NONCLASSICAL STATES OF THE CENTER-OF-MASS MOTION OF IONS BY DISPERSIVE COUPLING

We consider a dispersive effective coupling between the internal energ y electronic levels of an ion in a trap with its own center-of-mass mo tion. By using a procedure similar to the Ramsey oscillatory method, a quantum nondemolition experiment of the center-of-mass vibration popu lation number is proposed. A procedure to generate squeezed states and Schrodinger-cat-like states that are superpositions of squeezed state s is also suggested.