Dynamics Inside a Dual-Frequency Paul Trap in the Presence of Excess Micromotion

Dynamics inside a dual-frequency Paul trap is theoretically analyzed in the presence of excess micromotion on account of stray electric field and the field due to a mismatch of potential at the electrodes. The fields contributing to the excess micromotion have a strong influence on the kinetic energy of a single-charged particle, however, their influence is not profound when the collective dynamics of many charged particles is considered inside the trap. The collective dynamics is encapsulated by a distribution function whose time average is double-humped with respect to the velocity. The spatial variation of energy is asymmetrical. The temporal fluctuations of the energy are periodic with a period of variation depending upon the ratio of the two applied RF frequencies.