Researchers from the University of Amsterdam and the University of New South Wales have answered a question that has been around for decades: whether ions of the metal ytterbium can enter certain long-lived, nearly stable states and, if so, for how long. The measured long-lived states may find applications in quantum computers and atomic clocks.

Many modern atomic clocks and quantum computers have so-called trapped ions at their core. Ions, electrically charged atoms, can be in many different states, all with different amounts of energy. Because of their charge, these ions can be suspended in empty space and kept in place using electromagnetic fields. The operation of the clock or computer then relies on precisely controlling which energy state an ion occupies.

Researchers from the University of Amsterdam and the University of New South Wales have now discovered that the ytterbium ion (Yb⁺), a leading candidate for both technologies, can remain in previously unexplored states for surprisingly long periods.