ABSTRACT
The probability distributions for the ground and excited states of a two-level ion in a harmonic trap are studied. The incoming photons excite the ion which relaxes back to its ground state by either spontaneous or stimulated emission. The chapter argues that the arrival times of the photons are described by a Poisson process. It considers the simplified case of the semiclassical description of a two-level ion trapped in a static, one-dimensional harmonic potential. The solutions of the model describes the dynamics of dilute ion ensembles in terms of a coupled system of stochastic differential equations, correct to all orders in the momentum transfer between the ion and the radiation field. The numerical solution of the steady state of the both levels and the results of a Monte Carlo simulation of the equation of motion confirm the analytical estimation derived for the ion energy.
