Scientists in the US have developed a novel way to control temperature inside a trapped-ion quantum simulator that recreates realistic thermal environments for studying quantum systems. Precise thermal tuning For the study, the team studied molecular electron transfer using a trapped-ion quantum simulator. In turn, the second control relies on a cooling laser that slows the ions’ vibrations, which reduces their temperature. “These new controls give us precise control over an ion’s thermal state, allowing us to place an ion into a specific state or interrogate an ion in an unknown state,” Pagano concluded in a press release. “With these, we can greatly increase the number and type of questions we can ask using the trapped-ions quantum simulator.”