Piston control in a two-ion quantum device

We propose a scheme for piston control in a two-ion quantum device with motion confined to orthogonal axes. In this system, one ion plays the role of a ‘classical’ piston driven by the Coulomb interaction with the other ion, whose quantum motion is controlled through modulation of its trapping potential. The stationary state is determined self-consistently, taking quantum effects into account. We identify a narrow quantum regime of the ground state connecting two broad classical regimes. We further design inverse-engineering protocols to control the motion of the ‘classical’ ion. The proposed control scheme provides a useful route toward controlled piston dynamics in microscopic quantum devices.