Decoherence of trapped-ion internal and vibrational modes: The effect of fluctuating magnetic fields

The effect of ambient magnetic fields on the dynamics of a single trapped ion is studied analytically. We consider two electronic states with energy separation stochastically varied by magnetic-field perturbations and coupled to the vibrational modes by a laser. For Gaussian white noise, a master equation is derived and solved. The results obtained reveal how the effective Rabi frequencies and the decay rates depend on the noise strength and on the number state index. The detection of features specific to magnetic-field noise in the evolution of states that can be prepared under standard experimental conditions is discussed. A comparison with the effects of laser intensity and phase fluctuations is presented. Implications for the realization of logic gates are analyzed.