GENERATION OF SUPERPOSITIONS OF COHERENT STATES OF THE MOTION OF A TRAPPED ION

We propose a method for preparing superpositions of coherent states of the motion of an ion in an anisotropic two-dimensional trap, in which the ion is tightly bound in the y direction. In the scheme the ion is excited by two resonant laser beams with equal amplitude; propagating along the x and y directions, respectively. In the Dicke-Lamb limit, an initial coherent state of the ion motion can be converted into a su perposition of several coherent states on a circle through the laser-i on interactions and state-selective measurements on the ion.