GENERATION OF MESOSCOPIC SUPERPOSITIONS OF 2 SQUEEZED STATES OF MOTION FOR A TRAPPED ION

We propose a scheme to generate mesoscopic superpositions of two squee zed states of motion using a highly anisotropic two-dimensional trap i n which the ion's motion is tightly bound in the Y direction. In our s cheme, the ion is driven multichromatically by three codirectional las er beams along the X axis, as well as a resonant laser beam along the Y axis. We show that, with the appropriate chosen initial states, the desired states of motion are realized in the X direction when the syst em reaches its steady state, which is indicated by the extinction of t he fluorescence from the ion.